


Where No One Stands Alone

by McKaysgal



Category: Boondock Saints (Movies)
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, Eventual Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:13:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 46,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24990610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McKaysgal/pseuds/McKaysgal
Summary: "Though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death... I shall fear no one." Connor and Murphy save a girl after a great tragedy nearly destroys her, only for the lass to affect both of their hearts in different ways...
Relationships: Connor MacManus & Murphy MacManus, Connor MacManus/Original Female Charcter(s)
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

I lay there helplessly in the darkened alley, the pain in my abdomen increasing at a frightening pace. The dark clouds shrouded the moon in the night-time sky of Boston as the rain soaked my freezing skin.

My body felt helpless to move as the tears burned my eyes.

"H…help. Someone please help me…" I called out into the seemingly deserted street.

I looked over to see the pieces of my shattered cell phone laying by a garbage can.

My voice cracked with the effort to yell at a loud volume. The pain in my lower body only reminded me of the painful act that the man had forced me to endure…

His arms grabbing me from behind, picking me up roughly to carry me into the seclusion of one of Boston's numerous alleys…

The way his hand prevented my failed screams for help to reach anyone's ears…

I forced the memory away from my mind as I reached for the whistle that hung from a chain around my neck. My limited ability to speak led me to purchase an emergency whistle for situations such as this.

My hands trembled with the cold as I raised the whistle to my lips and blew with all the strength I possessed. If I woke somebody up, then so be it.

The shrill noise echoed around me, bouncing against the brick walls of the alley. I lay my head back onto the hard ground and I felt a rock poking into my side.

At last, I heard footsteps among the raindrops falling around me. Two dark figures slowly walked forward into the area where I lay. I was starting to lose the feeling in my feet and legs since had chosen to wear shorts today.

"Hello? Is there anybody here?" A male voice called out from the tall dark figures. As they came closer, I quickly could tell that they were both men…and Irish men at that.

"I…I'm here. P- please help me." Finally, they came close enough that I could see them clearly from the faint streetlight in my peripheral vision. Both of them looked so much alike that they seemed to be twins. They kneeled down closer to me as they examined the position I held, lying helplessly on a cold alley street.

"Are you alright, miss?" The man with the blue eyes asked me in a calm Irish accent that sounded slightly soothing to my ears. He seemed to be the older brother of the two, but I couldn't focus on that as he helped me to stand up.

"Is there somebody we can call for ya?" The other man, the younger, asked me, sounding urgent and impatient to know what crime had been prejudiced on me.

My legs began to shake as the older brother helped to keep me standing, but I could feel the weakness inside me consume my senses.

"I…I was raped." I managed to whisper as I stared into the blue eyes of the man who held me up from the flooding alleyway of water.

The last thing I remembered seeing was the way his eyes flashed in anger and disbelief as I weakly confessed my plight of distress.

Everything went black.

.

.

.

Conner's POV:

Before I could see it coming, the girl's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she went limp in my grasp. She released an exhausted sigh as she fainted, falling backwards toward the ground. I managed to catch her before she could be injured any further.

Murphy looked between me and her, concern raging in his eyes. As twins, we were able to communicate with one another without having to say a single word. I knew what he was telling me.

We couldn't just leave this girl to freeze to death in this alley. She looked so young, so innocent. Her dark hair and clothes were soaked from the rain, but I didn't give it a second thought as I gently put one of her arms around my shoulders, preparing to pick her up.

I held one of my arms under her knees and the other under her back. This girl had a pretty petite body where she seemed to weigh no more than a doll. She probably hadn't had a decent meal in days, poor lass.

"Let's get her to some place where she'll be warm, Murph." I said to him, walking toward the main street. Luckily, our loft house wasn't far from the alleyway, so I could avoid any passersby's stares focusing on me carrying an unconscious girl.

Once we got to our rundown apartment, I laid the girl on one of our mattresses. Murphy grabbed both of our woolen blankets and covered her with them.

I silently wondered how long this poor young woman had been laying out in that fucking alley. Didn't anyone answer her cries for help?

A strange feeling of anger boiled in me as I turned on our makeshift heater, hopefully helping to keep her warm.

I buried my face in my hands as I sat down at our small kitchen table. Tomorrow morning was gonna be interesting when she woke up.

Hopefully, God had placed her into dreams that temporarily freed her from her situation… All I knew was that Murphy and I were going to have a hell of a time explaining why she was in our apartment, of all the safe havens she could have ended up in.

.

.

As the stormy night wore on, I chose to sleep on the ratty-ass couch while Murphy dragged his mattress next to it. We didn't want the girl to freak out when she woke up to a strange man sleeping just a few feet away from her.

After I stripped myself down to my underwear, I wrapped my tattered gray robe around me. Our old heater sat near where she lay asleep, so the rest of the place was pretty fucking freezing. I looked to where Murphy was opening the rusty refrigerator, rummaging through the numerous beer bottles inside.

"I'm tryin' to find somethin' fer her to drink in the mornin'. She doesn't look a day older than nineteen years old." I heard him say as the bottles clanked together in the fridge. A moment later, he let the door shut with a loud slam.

"Murphy, will you fuckin' be quiet?" I whispered loudly as he walked to his mattress, slumping down onto it. "You're gonna wake her up, man."

He looked up at me with an annoyed look in his cocky eyes. "Well, shit, Conner. We don't have anything else fer this lass except beer. She doesn't look like the drinkin' type to me." He raised his eyebrows in a double-meaning type of way as I heard the faint sound of whimpering from the other room.

"Great, man. Look what you did." I sighed as I rose up from the couch.

"What are you pissed at me about, Prince fuckin' Charmin'? It was your idea to bring her here, and you carried her to our house like Sir fuckin' Lancelot. That was just creepy, man." Murphy put his arms under his head to use them as a pillow as I silently scowled at him.

Turning from my twin brother, I headed to the mattress where the young girl lay sleeping. Due to the light in the room, I was able to see her more clearly. Her brown hair lay strewn along her neck and cheek, wet and tangled from her assault. Hoping Murph didn't see me, I reached down and gently pushed her hair away from her cheek so I could see her face.

As it turned out, she was actually quite pretty. Her pale skin shone from being in the soaking rain along with her wet brown hair. Her eyelids twitched as she dreamed, her forehead wrinkling in unconscious worry. Strangely, I found myself wanting to calm her, despite that I didn't even know so much as her name.

Leaning down on my knees by the mattress, I could hear her start to whimper again… and the silent anger filled me once more.

"Shh…it's all right. You're safe now. Nothing will ever harm you again." I whispered this only for her to hear. How could anyone want to hurt this girl? What had she done to deserve this? It truly made me sick that motherfuckers like that would do something like this to a poor young girl.

She started to calm down as she stopped whimpering. I couldn't help but smile to myself as her face became peaceful again.

As I rose to stand up again, I heard the sound of snickering behind me. "Wow, Conner. You've gone overboard." Murphy was leaning against the wall, trying to cover his laughing with his hands.

"Don't fuckin' start, Murph. She was having a nightmare. Look, tomorrow, we'll explain why we brought her here, and then we'll take her to the hospital." I looked at Murphy as he walked back to his mattress again.

As I followed him, I looked down and saw something lying on the floor by her mattress. It was brown and made of a kind of fake leather. It must have been her wallet that fell out of her pocket when I laid her down.

I knew it was wrong to peek in somebody's wallet, but I wanted to at least find out her name. Picking it up in my hand, I opened it and gazed at her I.D.

Her name was Danielle Smecker, and Murphy was right when he said she didn't look older than nineteen. Somehow, her vulnerable condition made her seem younger to me.

Closing the wallet, I laid it next to her limp hand on the blanket.

As I slumped back down onto the couch, I saw Murphy just staring at me with a smug smile on his asshole face.

"What's so fuckin' funny, Murph? Didn't Ma teach us to be respectful to women? " I groaned at the thought of him catching me trying to soothe our little damsel in distress.

"So, you peeked at her wallet, too. Yea, that's really respectin' the hell out of her, Conner." He closed his eyes, trying to hide his laugh with a big grin instead.

"I…I just wanted to see what her name was. And by the way, genius, you were right about her not bein' of the drinkin' age. I'll make her a glass of water in the mornin'." I told him, hoping to get Murph off my back.

"Yeah, you just wanna stare at her again, man. That's even creepier than carryin' her while she's sleepin." He laughed aloud this time, but not too loud.

"She just fuckin' passed out on me. What was I supposed to do? Throw her over me shoulder like a damn cave-man?" I nearly growled, surprised at my jumpy temper.

"Forget it, Conner. Let's just get some sleep." At last, Murphy shut up as he closed his eyes. I could see him start to smile as I laid my head on the rock-hard couch. "Hope you have sweet dreams, Romeo." He laughed softly to himself as I leaned over and smacked him in the side of his head.

As he quieted down, I clutched at the rosary that hung around my neck, silently wondering if God put this girl in our path…and in my arms…for a reason.


	2. Chapter 2

Danielle's POV:

My eyes opened to an unfamiliar room, the gray walls appearing smudged in my blurry vision. I quickly sat up as I felt the warm blankets covering me and the mattress underneath my bruised body.

Where the hell was I? As I looked around the room, I heard the sounds of snoring about ten feet from me. Two men lay sleeping on the couch and another mattress, respectively. Fear began to rise in my body as I figured out that they had brought me here last night after…

As I remembered the horrible event of that rainy night, intense nausea rose in my stomach, making me feel sick. I could feel it getting worse as I frantically looked around the small apartment for a toilet or sink.

I shot myself across the room toward the rusty toilet, not caring if I woke up the two strange men. Leaning over it, I vomited violently, letting my body succumb to what had happened to me. The roaring in my ears intensified as my stomach relieved itself.

After I finished, I slumped against the toilet, wishing I could pass out again. Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths, trying to keep from crying or hyperventilating.

Then, I heard footsteps come toward me, strong gentle hands helping me up off the ground. They felt somewhat familiar as I felt their arm gently wrap around my waist and sit me down on the couch.

"Who…who are you? Why did you bring me here?" I opened my eyes to see the two men who rescued me in the alley.

The Irish twins…

"It's alright, lass. We're not gonna hurt ya." The older man gently responded in his deep accent. Hearing his voice made me feel soothed and calm, but I shivered as sweat beaded at my forehead. "Me brother and I brought ya here last night so you wouldn't get chilled any more than ya already were." His blue eyes seemed to display sympathy for me as he grabbed his black pea-coat from a nearby kitchen chair and covered my goosebump-covered legs with it.

Feeling more chilled, I took the coat and put my arms into the sleeves, which were longer than my arms were. I hugged my legs up to my chest, snuggling my whole body into the warm coat. To the brothers, my head was probably the only thing not hidden by the pea-coat.

"Me name is Connor. Connor MacManus. And this little twerp over hear is Murphy." He gestured to the younger one who was at the sink, filling a glass with water.

"My…name is Danielle Smecker. It…it's nice to meet you, I guess." I looked down at the ground, feeling hungry and thirsty. "Are…are you guys twins?" I asked them, feeling my throat tighten.

The one named Murphy walked toward me and handed over the glass of water. I pushed back the long sleeves of Connor's coat up to my elbows and held the glass to my lips.

Out of my peripheral vision, saw Murphy give me a sort of smirk. I knew I looked ridiculous with a stranger's coat wrapped around me like I was a bundled up newborn baby. I hated feeling fragile and weak.

Connor lightly punched him in the arm and gave him a silent glare for him to be quiet. I found it kind of fascinating that twins seemed to have a unique connection only they shared with each other.

I finished my water and set the glass on the floor by my feet. "T…thank you guys for your help, but I really should get going." I freed myself of Connor's coat, revealing my tank top and dark shorts I had worn last night.

"Wait…maybe my brother should take ye to the hospital. To see if you're hurt…" Connor trailed off as he and Murphy stared at my beaten body. Bruises lay scattered on my arms and legs, along with a large scratch on my knee.

"I…I'll be fine. And the hospital is quite a ways from here, isn't it?" The brothers each looked at each other, having a kind of silent conversation.

"I think we should get Rocco to bring his car over so we can take her to the hospital." Murphy seemed to be talking to both me and Connor, who stayed silent, frowning at the numerous bruises on my body.

Right then, the apartment door burst open with a bang, making me crash back down onto the couch in fright. Two huge Russian guys charged toward us, each appearing to be wounded and angry.

"Freeze you fuckin' Irish faggots!" The man in front yelled at the two brothers, sending a chill down my spine. The Russian's comrade grabbed Murphy by the back of his bathrobe while Connor was being forced to handcuff himself to the toilet.

The huge Russian turned away from Connor to see me cowering in fear on the couch. "What have we got here? A little whore for the Irishman to share with Ivan Checkov?" He smiled evilly as he pulled another pair of handcuffs from his pocket. Before I could react, his hand grabbed both of my wrists, cuffing them together.

"Get ur fuckin' hands off her!" I heard Connor yell as Checkov threw me over his huge shoulder. Fear tightened its hold around my heart as Checkov walked back to where Connor was trapped. He snarled at the handsome Irishman. "You know why I fuckin' come here? I come here to kill you. But, now, I don't think I'll fuckin' kill you. I kill your brother and rape the girl. I'll shoot him in the head. When I'm done with this little slut, I'll snap her pretty little neck. It'll be easy, like breaking a fuckin' toothpick."

I could feel Ivan hold my legs down against him to keep me from kicking. He turned and stalked out the door, following his comrade who held his gun to Murphy's head.

"NOOO!" I heard Connor scream in rage as Murphy and I were taken out of the apartment. From Checkov's shoulder, I saw Murphy give a last glance at Connor as if he were saying goodbye. I started pounding onto Checkov's back with my little fists, but to no avail. A million questions echoed through my head as Ivan carried me out into the outside alley along with Murphy. I saw him getting down on his knees behind a dumpster as the Russian glutton threw me onto a trash-bag. His comrade grabbed me, holding his hand over my mouth. Ivan took his own gun and pointed it to Murphy's forehead.

"I hope your conscience is clear, Irishman!" He laughed nefariously as I looked up to the sky helplessly. Then, I saw something moving on the roof. Somebody was above the fire escape holding a…toilet?

My eyes widening in astonishment I saw the figure drop the toilet into the air, sending it plummeting to where Ivan was standing. A scream built in my throat as I recognized the robe-clad Connor flying through the air, down toward me and his captive twin. Murphy ducked away as the toilet smashed into Ivan's head, instantly killing him. It smashed into pieces as if it were made of glass.

Then, I felt myself falling to the ground as Connor crashed into me and Ivan's henchman. My captor let go of me as the young man fell onto his back, probably breaking his spine. The pistol in his hand went off and ricocheted against the brick wall of the alley.

Getting back onto my feet, I glanced around and saw the two Russians, now lying dead on the ground. I kneeled down by Connor, who seemed to have been knocked out from his fall. I ckecked his wrist for a pulse and found it as Murphy gathered up the Russians' money and guns into an old gift bag from the trash.

"Are ya alright, Dani?" Murphy rushed to where Connor and I were, carrying the bag of cash and weapons.

"Connor's okay. He's just knocked out." I informed him as Murphy heaved Connor's unconscious body off the ground with some difficulty. He managed to gather his older brother onto his shoulder as I grabbed the bag from him.

The cuffs around my wrists hurt with a fiery pain as I felt the warm blood drip down my fingers. Murphy and I fled the alleyway, making our way to the hospital.

"So…do you wanna explain just what the hell happened back there, Murphy?" I questioned him as we limped closer to the church ward.

Murphy grunted under his brother's weight, but managed to throw a laugh at me. He told me everything that had happened before they found me. The day of St. Paddy's…

The day when my life had been changed forever, and would never be the same again.

When Boston would never forget the birth of two Saints and an Angel…


	3. Chapter 3

Connor's POV:

I woke up slowly, feeling groggy and my head aching like a motherfucker. As I sat up, I recognized the walls of the church ward as the memory of the Russians came back to me.

"Murphy…what the fuck's goin' on? Are ye alright?" I looked to the side of my old hospital bed to see Danielle, much to my surprise. Behind her, I saw Murphy playing a hand game with a sick young boy who sat in his own wheeled bed.

"Danielle, ye got away. Are you okay?" I noticed the blood seeping from her hands. She grabbed a wet rag, wiping the remaining bits of blood from my forehead. As I looked into her eyes, I saw that they were a lovely shade of green, like the grasslands of my birth-country. If I thought this lass was pretty before, her beauty only increased into a greater amount in my mind.

"What's wrong, Connor? You, uh…keep staring at me." She began to blush as Murphy indiscreetly cleared his throat.

"It's alright, Dani. Ol' Connor's just pervin' a dish at ya." Murphy chuckled like the mischievous Irishman he was as I glared at him.

"I will fuck you up, Murph, if ya don't shut it!" Danielle giggled at our little spat. She cleared her throat to get our attention.

"While we waited for you to wake up, I went to the doctor for my 'situation' and he said that there was no sign of any sexually-transmitted diseases or pregnancy." She sighed in visible relief as I swung my legs to one side of the bed, setting my feet onto the ground.

Then, I heard the hallway doors open, revealing Doc, our fatherly bartender, striding toward us. "Je-Jesus Christ! What the fuck happened? Are you b-boys alright?" He asked us worriedly.

"We're alive, Doc." Murphy assured him, putting his arm around my shoulder for support.

"An FBI agent came by the bar, and he left me his c-c-card..." The old man stuttered and took off his glasses as he noticed quiet little Danielle among us. "Oh, who is th-this pretty little th-thing?"

"This here is our friend, Danielle. She's tagging along with us." Murphy explained casually to the old man. She held out her bloodied hand to shake Doc's, and then withdrew it when she remembered the blood on her hands.

"I'm Danielle Smecker, sir." She lightly smiled as Doc tipped his hat to her politely. Then, his brow furrowed as if he recalled something.

"Your last name is S-s-smecker?" He asked her as she nodded her head in reassurance. Doc's hand dove into his pocket, pulling out a small white card. "You wouldn't happen to be related this man by any chance, would you, sweetheart?" He handed her card with a trembling hand as he turned his head away to release his two favorite words. "FUCK! ASS!" Dani gasped in surprise at Doc, making me smirk to myself. This little lass was something else…

Murphy and I gathered around her to read the card as she stared at it.

FBI Agent Paul Smecker

South Boston Police Department

996-4891

"That man came by the bar earlier today and gave m-me that c-c-card of his." Dani looked down from the card, shakily handing it to me.

"Are you related to this FBI agent, Danielle?" I gently questioned her. She nodded vigoriously.

"Yes, he's my uncle, my father's brother. He's also the only family I've got left. He's probably sent an entire search party looking for me." Murphy and I looked at each other in silent conversation.

"I guess we're gonna have to turn ourselves in for the Russian incident and to show this Smecker guy that we haven't kidnapped ya." I explained to her as calmly as I could. The worry in her eyes sent a pang of anger into my heart. "It'll be okay, Dani. I promise." I tilted her head up with my fingers, gently tickling her under the chin. She smiled at me as she blushed, running her hand through her long, brunette hair.

"Doc, we need ya to do us a favor." Murphy requested of the old man, handing him the bag of the Russian's guns and money. "Will ya drop this off for us to pick up later?"

Our old friend graciously took the bag and walked back down the hall he'd come from, nodding goodbye to us. "FUCK! ASS!" He yelled uncontrollably, causing Danielle to stifle her coming giggles.

.

.

About half an hour later, Dani and Murphy were supporting me toward the police station, climbing slowly up the building steps. When we finally made it to the door, I saw a man who seemed to be in his mid-40s with blondish hair down to his neck. He saw the three of us stumbling inside, his eyes widening at the sight of three bloodied up misfits.

"Danielle…is that you?" He asked in astonishment, walking toward us. Dani let go of me and nearly ran into her uncle's arms. Her back seemed to be shaking with quiet sobs. A strange feeling of guilt washed through me at the sight of her crying.

He wrapped his arms around her, glaring suspiciously at us. "So you too are the Saints who everyone's talking about. I'd like to ask you a few questions about this morning's accident…and also about my niece." His eyes held us in place as he protectively regarded Dani. For a crazy-looking agent, he really did seem to love her.

After setting Dani down with a cup of steaming hot chocolate and doughnuts from the other cops, Smecker led us to the interrogation room. As he closed the blinds to the door window, I munched on a bagel while Murphy calmly smoked a cigarette at my side.

"This conversation is going to be recorded, so just answer to the best of your knowledge." He reached to press Play in the tape recorder, but Murphy stopped him.

"Excuse us, sir. Just a moment please." He leaned over and whispered into my ear in our native Gaelic language. "What do we tell him about the guns and money?"

I responded to him in the same tongue. "Bum musta rolled them out before the police got there."

"Okay, we're ready." Smecker asked us about how we had come across the Russians and how Dani became involved in their revenge on us. He seemed a little more than ready to strangle me as Murphy joked to him about me rescuing Dani.

"Yea, me brother's the noble knight in shinin' armor when it comes to pretty women." Despite the teasings, Smecker did seem grateful to us for helping her.

The door opened as an officer stepped in. "Mr. Smecker, the press are just goin' nuts for these two guys and your niece. What do ya wanna do?" Smecker looked at us from across his desk.

"You guys aren't being charged. It's up to you. Do you wanna talk to the press?"

"No, absolutely not. No pictures, either." We both insisted in unison. "Do you think we can stay here for tonight?"

The officer at the door answered us immediately. "Yeah, we have an extra holding cell. You guys can…" He stopped when Paul stared at him pointedly. "Can they stay?" He asked somewhat timidly.

"Well, we'll have to check with your mom. But its okay with me if your friends sleep over." Smecker smirked with a double-meaning tone, making my brother chuckle with humor.

We went out into the main office where Dani was waiting at Paul's desk, talking with a detective named Greenly. He seemed to be joking with her, cussing and making strange facial expressions at her.

I quietly smiled at her laughing figure as Smecker led us to our overnight cell. As we started to get settled, I heard the small footsteps of Danielle come in. She seemed to be out of place in a room this dreary. She stopped in front of us as tears flooded her gorgeous green eyes.

"Th…thank you, guys, for everything. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead by now." She whispered quietly, coming closer to us. Dani wrapped her arms around Murphy's neck, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Then, she approached me, allowing my eyes to have more access to hers. I had seen many girls around Boston, but nobody who was quite as lovely as her. She was beautiful without even trying to be.

"I wish both of you well, Connor. Maybe we'll see each other again someday." She enfolded her slender arms around my neck as an unfamiliar feeling of shivers ran down my spine. I could feel her reach up onto her tiptoes to kiss my cheek as well. She was so small that it almost scared me to think how she had survived living in a tough city like Boston.

Then, I heard another pair of footsteps toward us followed by a familiar laugh. Rocco came into the cell, carrying our clothes and cross necklaces. Dani and I released each other as our best friend stopped in his spot.

"Hey… you guys alright?" He stared curiously at Danielle as she looked down at the floor.

"Rocco, this is Danielle. We helped her out last night when she was in trouble." Murphy explained quickly to him. Rocco furrowed his brow in slight distrust, but held out his hand anyway to shake hers.

Right then, Smecker came near the cell door. "Dani, it's time that we oughta go home. You've had quite the adventure with these two gentlemen."

She nodded obediently to her uncle and turned toward the cell door. "It's nice to meet you, Rocco. Goodbye, guys. I hope my uncle wasn't too hard on you." She smiled as she walked to her uncle, following him down the jail hallway.


	4. Chapter 4

Danielle's POV:

Uncle Paul and I drove home in his car in silence as another day in South Boston came to an end. As I stared at the passing city, I couldn't get my mind off of the MacManus brothers.

Initially, I found that to be ridiculous considering I had known them for only 24 hours. I tried to convince myself that it was only Hero's Syndrome that was happening to me. The boys had rescued me in my time of need and I felt attached to them for the time being.

As we finally made it home, I could feel my uncle's eyes scrutinizing me, silently examining the lacerations on my pale skin. I knew he meant well by me, but he was just so strange sometimes that it flew over my level of understanding.

"What were the results of your 'incident' test?" He asked me suddenly as we pulled up into the driveway. I was taken by surprise at his question, but then I remembered that he needed to know if anything fatal had resulted due to the rape.

"Um…no. The doctor said that I tested negative for both pregnancy and STDs." I explained as much as I could without allowing my voice to quiver at the memory. Quickly climbing out of the passenger seat, I jumped down onto the driveway and shut the car door.

Paul followed me quietly, almost vigilantly, into the house, turning on the lights as I slumped down onto the couch. I had never felt more grateful to be in my uncle's house than in that moment. Away from the alleys, bars, alcoholic thugs, and being kidnapped.

My uncle broke the silence as I kicked off my muddy tennis shoes. "Are you hungry, Dani? Do you want me to make you anything?" By his tone of voice, I knew this guardian thing was still new to him.

After my parents died, their will stated that I would be placed into the custody of Paul Smecker until I turned 21. My father insisted that I stay under the protection of an adult household until then because he thought Boston was too dangerous for a teenage girl… Anything could happen to me.

And only one day ago, he was proven right…

A new flood of angry tears overwhelmed my eyes as I felt Paul's hand on my shoulder. "I'm not very hungry right now. I think I'm just gonna take a shower and go to bed." Shivers ran down my spine as I stood up from the couch and headed toward my bedroom.

Instead of actually taking a shower, I undressed and put on a soft, short nightgown that went down to just above my knees. I stood in front of my mirror, studying my bruise-covered figure. They were still there on my skin, along with my flushed face, my eyes turning a lighter green due to my tears. My brown hair remained more intact since the visit to the police station, the shine of grease evident with the bedroom light on the top of my head.

"Shit, I look terrible." I muttered to myself as I smoothed out the wrinkles in my nightgown.

Turning, away from my crappy reflection, I went to the door of my personal bathroom and walked inside without turning the light on. Besides the sink and toilet, there was only a stand-in shower with sliding door. This was the place where I could break down in tears with the comfort of silence.

Climbing inside the shower, I closed the door, the designs in the glass enclosing me into my own world of confusion and questions. Then, a sudden crack of thunder rumbled through the tile beneath my body, followed by the quick flashing of lightning.

The glass window of the shower became illuminated in that split second of light, making me feel as if I were in a different place… the glass seemed to transform into the pattern of a stained glass window… like those seen in a church…

I closed my eyes, huddling my body into the nightgown, not caring if I was stretching the silky material. Leaning my head against the cold shower wall, I heard another clap of thunder along with the sound of rain against the roof.

Then, I felt the cold water from the shower head drip onto my head in little drops. I leaned farther, tilting my head up so that the water dripped onto my forehead. Anger flooded through my body with all the memories.

Didn't anyone see the bastard when he dragged me into the alley? What about my parents? They were walking home from the store when they had been mugged. Their money and my mother's jewelry were stolen…and so were their lives.

For the past year since they died, I kept the anger inside me like a weight in my heart. Every day felt like running a goddamn marathon just to get through it.

As another clap of thunder rumbled around me, the water began to drip increasingly onto my forehead. Then, I felt an unknown force pull by body forward, making me hold back a scream.

When I raise my flashing sword, and my hand takes hold on judgment, I will take vengeance upon mine enemies, and I will repay those who hate me.

Oh, Lord, raise me to Thy right hand and count me among Thy saints.

A deep, fatherly voice haunted the walls surrounding me, making my internal fit of anger cease, causing the shivers to consume me as I opened my eyes again.

Hugging my legs close to my chest, the realization came to me as the voice stopped speaking.

"Destroy all that which is evil…so that which is good may flourish." The whisper came out of my quivering lips as I stood up from the shower floor. The water droplets streamed down my face, the liquid making tiny wet trails down my neck and onto the skin under my nightgown.

I climbed out of the shower and felt the wall for the light switch. I turned on the light and gazed at my face in the mirror. The combination of spilled tears and bathwater covered my cheeks and forehead, my pale skin flushed with the feeling of quiet rage and determination.

"No more." I whispered to myself, straightening out the wet strands of my hair. "No fucking more." My voice became fierce, which really surprised me. I was usually a quiet person, never showing anger or aggressiveness. But, now, the time for being helpless was over.

I was sick and tired of having to be rescued all the time, feeling vulnerable and breakable like a porcelain doll. Waiting to be robbed of my life, my family, my virtue…

Two out of three of those things had already been taken from me. I wasn't going to let that happen again. Someday, I wanted to meet a nice man, get married and have children. But, I sure as hell didn't want them to grow up in a world that was filled with pimps, drug dealers, rapists, child molesters… To feel that they had to look over their shoulder every other second and worry about who's behind them.

If anyone was going to take a stand, it was going to be me. The world was truly fucked up. Our legal system was fucked up…and it just made me sick to the core.

But, then I realized I would need help. Maybe twice the help. I couldn't do this alone. I needed somebody strong and tough…willing to do anything to help me.

Connor and Murphy MacManus…

They'd be perfect for the job. I'd have to go to the station first thing in the morning to tell them of my epiphany.

I tossed and turned restlessly that night, until the dim light of dawn shone into my bedroom. After dressing myself down to a black tank top and jeans, I scribbled down a note for Uncle Paul, explaining what had happened to me and that I was sorry for causing him to worry.

Dear Uncle Paul,

I have had a change of heart last night about the system of justice in Boston. I know it sounds crazy, but I feel that I can do this. Please don't bother to look for me. I'll be fine and the MacManus brothers will take good care of me.

Love, Dani.

Setting the note onto the coffee table, I pulled off the whistle from around my neck and laid it next to the paper.

I pulled on my jean jacket and walked out to my tan Nissan Altima. It wasn't the greatest car ever, but it was all mine and I loved it. Pulling out of the driveway, I headed down to the police station.

By the time I walked into the main office room, many of the detectives gave me friendly nods and grins of recognition. "Are you here to see your noble rescuers?" Detective Greenly asked me, munching on a doughnut.

"Yes, I wanted to see them again about something important." I looked behind him and saw the two brothers walking from the cell hallway.

"Look no further, Juliet." Greenly smirked, pointing toward them. The other detectives cheered as Connor came in front of Murphy. My heart skipped a beat as I saw him in the pea-coat he had covered me with for warmth only yesterday. I had never realized how gorgeous he really was…

Shaking my head, I took a deep breath and approached the two twins. Connor and Murphy stopped when they saw me. "Dani, what are ya doin' here? Is everything alright?" Connor held me to my spot with the fiery concern in his blazing blue eyes.

"Yes, I…I just wanted to see if you guys were okay after everything that happened yesterday." His eyes seemed to ebb with the anger as I explained that nothing else harmful had been done to me.

"Um…hold on, Dani. I'll be back in just a second." He walked away toward the office pay phone. I saw in his bandaged hand what seemed to be a black pager. What would he be doing with that?

I turned around to see Murphy joking with some of the Boston cops, so I went up to explain what had happened to me last night. "Murph, can I please talk to you for a minute, privately."

The young man looked at me curiously, but he followed out in a corner of the office. "Last night, I had this strange… dream or epiphany…where I think it was God talking to me. I know it sounds crazy, but I had this feeling where I realized that there is a bunch of shit that goes on in this world, but nobody cares anymore… and I want to stop it."

Murphy stared at me in astonishment, almost as if I were reading his mind. "Oh, fuck, Dani. That is exactly what happened to Connor and I. We got a callin' from the Lord Himself for that same reason. But, I'm not too sure about you joinin' us. I think Connor will be a little uptight concerning you." He raised his eyebrows at me like a teenage boy who had just told a dirty joke.

"I'd be concerned about what?" We turned around to see Connor leaning against the wall, his arms across his chest, his eyes quietly demanding to be let in on the conversation.


	5. Chapter 5

Connor's POV:

After I finished writing down the recorded message from Checkov's pager, I turned around to see Murphy talking with Danielle in a conspiring manner. As I walked closer, Murphy leaned against the wall in front of her, his eyebrows raised in a way that made me feel strange.

Was he making a move on her? As that very thought came to mind, I immediately pushed it back. I had more important things to think about than my brother's interactions with Dani. It was true I did grow to like her very much, and she seemed like a sturdy little lass that didn't take any bullshit despite her vulnerable appearance.

Quietly leaning against the wall behind them, I noticed her change in wardrobe. Her long hair was wrapped in a long ponytail that swung down to the middle of her back. She wore a black tank top without sleeves. Instead, there was a black strap enfolding itself around her slender neck to hold the garment in place. The bottom of the tank-top revealed most of her mid-riff, along with her perfectly rounded curves. Her figure presented Dani's body as petite without looking anorexic.

I was tempted to look down further at her body when I shook my head, trying to get ahold of myself. Feeling ashamed, I remembered that my mother had taught me better when it came to respecting women. And here I was gazing at a girl I had rescued only a day ago like she was a prize…

Murphy's voice smacked me out of my reverie as he spoke to her. "I think Connor will be a little uptight concerning you." Feeling left out, I cleared my throat, folding my arms across my chest.

"I'd be concerned about what?" I asked in a demanding tone, staring at them. Danielle turned around sharply, a startled gasp sounding out of her. As she turned, her ponytail bounced over her shoulder, her green eyes widening in surprise.

"Connor…um…I was just discussing something important with Murphy. But, maybe we oughta take this outside. My car is in the parking lot." I looked at her as she stuttered, feeling somewhat amused at her intimidation of me. I wasn't angry at her; I only wanted to know what she and Murph were keeping from me. I hated being kept out of the loop.

"Alright." I clenched my jaw, gesturing for them to follow me out to the parking lot. When we got to her car, she leaned against it, running both hands through the hair on her scalp.

"Connor… I had the strangest experience last night. I heard this deep voice beckon me to him, like he was hypnotizing me. Then, the voice grabbed me from all around, and he gave me an order. He told me that I was to be counted among you as a fighting angel against the evil of this world. I know it sounds crazy, but… I want to join you and Murphy in that very battle to destroy all the scumbags out there." She smiled as she finished, eagerly waiting for my response.

I turned to Murphy for his take on this. He only shrugged his shoulders, smiling in honesty. "I'm fine with it. She seems to really want this, Conn." I glared at him, feeling slightly baffled that he wanted her to join.

Turning to Danielle, who still leaned against the car, twiddling with the keys in her hand. "Dani, I don't think you should come with us." I told her, sighing deeply as a frown came to her sweet face.

"Why not? Give me one good fucking reason why, Connor MacManus! And it sure as hell better not be because I'm a girl." She set her pink lips into a pout, her eyes firing up with her anger. I felt myself smirk at her as I softly chuckled. I had never seen her pissed off before. To be honest, she was quite adorable when she was irate.

"It doesn't have anything to do with you being a girl." I attempted to explain as I thought back to the night Murphy and I found her.

There she lay on the cold, soaking wet ground…

Her body freezing to the bone…

The way she fainted right in front of me, falling into my arms with exhaustion…

How her tiny, bruised-up form lay in my arms as I carried her out of that hellish black hole of an alley…

I was not going to see her like that again. As I opened my mouth to speak to her again, Murphy out his hand on my shoulder, turning me around toward him. "Look, Connor. Why don't we give her a chance? If she says that she got the same calling that we did, then I'm sure He wants her to join our mission." He whispered to me.

Feeling irritated, I flared my nostrils in quiet fury. I nodded my head slowly to my twin brother. Then, I turned back to the determined girl who continued to lean impatiently on her car, tapping her foot on the ground.

"Okay, Danielle. You're in." She gasped in excitement, smiling brightly. "But…" I stopped her, placing a hand on each of her shoulders to hold her still. Locking my eyes with hers, I felt a slight tremble in my heart as she stared at me. Her innocent green eyes waited for what I was about to say, whether it be ridiculous or practical.

"Dani, for now, you are to drive the getaway car. After what happened to you, I don't believe you're ready to face any of the crazy motherfuckers we could encounter on these missions." I pushed her ponytail off her shoulder, sending behind her back where it was before. She nodded her head in reluctant understanding.

"Okay, Connor. I'm sorry." She hung as I saw a tear fall from her eye.

"Hey, hey now." I whispered to her, almost crooning. "It's alrite. Murphy and I…we just don't want you to get hurt." She sniffled as I wiped her tear away. "There you go. I know that you're strong, little lass, but for now, we need you to keep a low profile."

"Speakin' of that, Dani, does your Uncle Smecker know that you're here?" Murphy questioned, walking toward us.

"I just left him a note explaining that I ran away with you guys, also to not look for me. But, he probably will anyway since he is my guardian." She explained as she unlocked all the car doors with the push of a button. "I guess we oughta get going with this. And I'm drivin', remember that." She opened the door to the driver's side as Murphy walked to open the door to the backseat.

"I know it's not the greatest car ever, but I love it. No making fun of it, okay." She firmly instructed us as I climbed into the passenger seat beside her. The inside was the cleanest interior of a car I'd ever seen. Murphy and I looked at each other in slight disbelief as Dani turned on the ignition and backed out of the station parking lot.

"I know. I'm a real neat freak. I make my bed every day, too." She added as if to baffle my brother and me further. She chuckled, smiling brightly as the rare Boston sun shone on her brunette hair.

"So, where to first, boys?" She asked us, driving straight down the street, which was still quiet for early in the morning.

"First, we need to find a weapons dealer to find the supplies we need." Murphy explained from the back seat. "And I think I know how we can persuade him." He held up the gift bag from our violent visit from the Russians which contained the guns, money and other valuables he found after I had been knocked unconscious.

Twenty minutes later, all three of us were sitting in the basement of a fellow Irish armory dealer, placing the Russians' belongings on the table in front of him. After a few minutes of silent negotiation, the fellow threw a duffel bag into the laps of me and my brother, and handed a small-sized backpack to our female companion.

"Knock yourselves out." I said, switching the light on to the weaponry room. Murphy and I couldn't help but stare in amazement at the heaven that lay at our fingertips. Dani just rolled her eyes, muttering something about how men were unbelievable, and strolled over to grab whatever she needed.

She came over to us holding three walkie-talkies. "These are so we can keep in touch while I wait in the car." Dani ended her sentence in a disappointed tone. Murphy stared at her with a confused expression, but grabbed a walkie-talkie out of her hand anyway. She handed one to me too, my tattooed hand grazing hers.

As I held up the walkie-talkie to inspect it, I saw her glancing at my left hand curiously. "Ver…Veritas." She pronounced the word slowly, almost like a child learning to read. "Is that Latin for something?" She asked me, stuffing her walkie-talkie into her backpack.

"Yep, it's Latin for 'truth'. Murphy has one that says 'Aequitas'. Latin for 'Justice'." I smiled at her, feeling happy that I had educated her on something of my own culture.

I looked away from her as she zipped up her bag, slinging it onto her back. Trying to distract myself, I turned to the wall behind Dani and inspected an impressive shotgun that hung on two nails. "Ya know what we need, Murph? Some rope."

"Absolutely. What are ya, insane?" Murphy inquired from the opposite side of the room. He was looking through all the different knives on the counter.

"Yea, Charlie Bronson's always got rope." I insisted, feeling Dani's amused eyes on both of us as we argued. "He always has rope strapped around him in the movies. They always end up using it."

"That's fuckin' stupid. Name one thing you're gonna need a rope for." Murphy accused as Dani sat down on her backpack, watching us.

"You never know what you're fuckin' need it for. They just always need it." I shot back at him.

"What's this 'they' shit? This isn't a movie." Murph went to the huge telescope pistol and aimed at me as I spotted a huge, jagged knife in his bag.

"Oh, right." I held up the knife from its tip for him to see. "Is that right, Rambo?"

"Okay, girls. You're both pretty. Can we please go, now?" Dani asked, standing up from her backpack. I smirked as Murphy finally relented to my rope request.

"Fine, get your stupid fuckin' rope." I looked back to Dani, who was leaning against the gate, waiting for us. The rope hung right next to her on the wall. I placed the knife back into Murph's bag.

"I'll get my stupid rope. I'll get it." I grabbed the black bundle of rope from the nail it hung on, boasting it to my dumb-ass brother. "There's some rope right there. Come on, Dani." I beckoned to her as Murphy grabbed his bag and followed us.

With Dani carrying her backpack, she went with us outside. Then, she stopped suddenly as we arrived at the car. "Guys, wait. We can't take my car. The police will have my license plate on record. We can't risk that, especially with my uncle. Do you think we'd be able to walk? I promise I won't lag behind."

She looked up hopefully at us, green boring into brown and blue. Finally, I decided that I couldn't stand making her unhappy again. "Okay, but stay close. When we get to the Copley Plaza Hotel, you'll be the lookout."

Dani nodded to that idea in acceptance, tightening the backpack straps on her shoulders. Smiling at her through my sunglasses, I wrapped my arm around her waist while Murphy placed his around her shoulders. I recognized his gesture toward her as that of an older brother to a little sister.

Mine, however, I could tell was different. My gloved hand lay on her bare midriff; gently gripping onto little Danielle so nothing could harm her. That was the moment my decision was made for me by God.

I would be her personal protector, the Saint who would never allow her to be hurt or be placed in danger… I would be damned if anything happened to her again.


	6. Chapter 6

Dani's POV:

When we finally arrived at the Copley Plaza Hotel, I felt relieved that we seemed to make it undetected.

"Alright, Dani. We should be back soon. You go into the front lobby and act like you're waitin' to be checked in. We'll signal ya when we're finished." Connor instructed me as I placed my walkie-talkie into my jeans pocket.

I still felt slightly irritated that Connor and Murphy wouldn't let me fully participate in their first job, but I understood their reasons for it. I had been through hell the past couple of days, and I was also a relative of a well-known FBI agent. Someone like me would be considered an easy target to get back at Paul Smecker for the multiple arrests of mobsters, pedophiles and all the lowlifes in Boston.

"Be careful, guys. Or else I'll kill you." I gave both of them a sly wink as Murphy playfully smiled at me over his shoulder, strapping a gun into his pea-coat pocket.

"You've got a lot of fire in ya fer such a wee lil' girl." He turned toward me, reaching out to playfully tweak my nose with his fingers.

I saw Connor smile at us out of the corner of my eye at his brother's mischief with me, but then he cleared his throat to get our attention.

Are ya ready for this shit, my dear brother?" In response to Connor's rhetorical question, Murphy slung Connor's rope over his shoulder and walked into the side exit door of the hotel building. Now, it was only Connor and I, alone for the first time.

"I was being serious when I said to be careful, Connor." He stared me down silently with his eyes, the fiery blue irises holding me where I stood.

"Don't ya worry, lil' Dani. 'Careful' is me fuckin' middle name." As he smiled down at me, I noticed for the first time how much taller he was than me. My height was only 5 feet and 1 inch. Both Connor and Murphy were probably a good ten inches taller than my small stature. The top of my head came up to below Connor's chin as we stood in close proximity to each other.

"I guess you oughta go before Murphy gets himself in trouble." I said softly as Connor nodded at me.

"Aye, you should also get inside before somebody sees ya. And you better be careful too, lil' lassie." I smiled widely at the term of affection, blushing a deep scarlet red while looking down at my feet. "I mean it, Dani. Ya need to look out fer any trouble while Murphy and I aren't here." He gently tilted my head up with his fingers, allowing my green eyes to connect with his. The playfulness in his eyes from earlier was gone, replaced with a protective glint of insistence.

"I promise that I will be safe, Connor MacManus." I declared to him with a hint of sarcasm. He smirked at me as he flung his black bag over his strong shoulder. I fingered the tiny pocketknife in my jean jacket as he walked to the side exit door where Murphy went. With a last glance at me, he disappeared into the building, leaving me alone in the darkness.

I looked in front of me at the front doors of the hotel, gathering up my courage. Clutching my jacket tightly around my body, I stepped through the revolving doors, abandoning my quiet life of innocence in favor of the dark world of vigilante justice…

Connor's POV:

I met Murphy at the elevator that would take us to the 5th floor of the hotel. As we waited for it to reach our destination, I noticed my brother staring at the floor quietly.

"Are ya nervous?" I asked him, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my peacoat.

"A bit." He answered, his voice cracking slightly. I nodded in understanding.

"Myself, as well." I informed him, trying to ease his nerves.

Murph pressed the STOP button on the elevator control pad, making it cease to move. We bent down and gathered our supplies out of our duffel bags, putting on our ski masks to conceal our faces. I stood up, holding my bundle of rope over my shoulder. Murphy scoffed at me. "You and your fuckin' rope."

"Shut it, Murph. Help me get this thing over." He helped support my weight as I stood and removed the ceiling block out of the top of the elevator so we could climb up. Once we were both on top, I found the shaft opening with my flashlight.

"I told ya there'd be a shaft. Just like on television." I said to Murphy, pulling the lid out of the opening hole so we could crawl through.

I led the way in the vent, using my flashlight to aid me. After some time of slowly crawling inside, I had the feeling that we were lost. There was no fuckin' way I was telling Murphy that, though.

As I turned around in my crawling position, Murph tried to follow, grunting with the weight of my special rope.

"Where the fuck are you goin'?" He asked me irritably as I tried to figure out where we were.

"Shhh! I'm figurin' out some shit here." I turned to him, feeling irritated myself.

"Oh, fuck you! I'm sweatin' my ass off draggin' your fuckin' rope around. It must weigh thirty pounds." Murphy kept complaining as I aimed the flashlight further down the vent.

"We are doin' some serious shit here! So, get a fuckin' hold of yourself." I half-growled and half-whispered at him furiously.

"Oh, fuck you! I'm not the rope-totin' Charlie Bronson wannabe that's gettin' us fuckin' lost!" Murphy shot back at me, now crawling at my side on the vent floor.

"Will you fuckin' shut it!" I whispered as I smacked him on the forehead with my flashlight. Before I knew it, we were wrestling each other inside the fucking vent, kicking and grunting insults to each other the black rope tangling itself around us.

Then…the vent started creaking with our weight. The metal groaned and squeaked as we crashed through it, coming to the ceiling. Murphy and I crashed through the ceiling, right into the very room I had been trying to find.

We hung upside down from the rope like fucking Spider-man, aiming at the mobsters with our guns in each of our hands. They all went down as they tried to grab their own weapons out of their pockets, only to fall down dead with a bullet in their chest.

Only the leader of the gang meeting remained: Yuri Petrova.

He cowered down underneath as we hung above him, crouching on the carpet at the sight of the lifeless, bloody men all around him.

Murphy reached up with his "Rambo" knife to cut us free from the rope. We both dropped down onto the floor next to Petrova, who seemed to have no weapons on him that I could see.

He looked up at us, his eyes widening in fear at the sight of our large guns in each of our hands. He got on his knees in front of us, begging us in Russian to spare him.

But, we could not afford to risk him harming another person…

Murphy and I ignored his pleading cries for mercy as we aimed one gun each to the back of his head. Petrova started to yell, pointing frantically at a black suitcase that lay on the countertop of the hotel room. No bribery could redeem him of his association with the Mob.

As we aimed to the back of his skull, our victim's cries were drowned out from my ears as my beloved brother and I recited our sacred family prayer. Hopefully, it would help Petrova for it to be the very last thing he heard before he arrived to the gates of Judgement.

"And shepherds we shall be

For Thee, my Lord, for Thee

Power hath descended forth from Thy hand

That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command.

So we shall flow a river forth to Thee

And teeming with Souls shall it ever be.

In nomine Patri,

Et Fili,

Spiritus Scanti."

The bullets protruded straight into the back of his skull, leaving dark, bloody holes where his eyes used to be.

Murphy went around the room, placing pennies into the eyes of each dead man. A heavenly silence filled the room as we crossed the arms of each corpse across their chests, preparing them for the jury of angels who would decide their final fate.

I felt stronger than I had ever felt in my life, knowing that we had taken action with the evil in this corrupted world. Kneeling down onto my knees in the center of the room, I spread out my arms to God, absorbing the strength he had given me and my brother. I muttered a silent prayer of thanks to Him, for His Calling to us… for giving us a real purpose among the hell that is humanity…

And I shall count Thee among My favored sheep. And you shall have the protection of all the angels in Heaven…


	7. Chapter 7

Connor's POV:

"Well, Murph. 'Name one thing you're gonna need the stupid fuckin' rope for.'" I mocked my brother's voice as I pulled the rope out of the hole we made in the ceiling.

He gazed around the bloody circle of dead men, nodding his head in approval. "That was way easier than I thought. You know, on TV, you always have that guy that jumps over the sofa."

"And then you gotta shoot at him for ten fuckin' minutes, too." I added, imitating the shooting motion of a gun with my hand.

"Christ, we're good." Murphy smiled, elbowing me on the arm.

"Yes, we are!" I proclaimed, feeling proud of ourselves for the jointly shared triumph. Then, I heard the sound of crackling static from the pocket of my pea-coat.

"Hello? Connor, Murphy? Are you guys okay?" I reached down and pulled my walkie-talkie into my hand, trying to hear her voice. It was overwhelmed by the sound of static.

"Dani, we're both fine. Come upstairs and meet us in Room 412 on the fifth floor. And try to mentally prepare yourself for what you're about to see." Murphy spoke into his own walkie-talkie to her, his voice empty of any mischief he had before. Just half an hour ago, he had been playfully teasing her like she was a younger sister…

"Okay, I'll be up there in a few minutes." She responded, her own voice urgent with focus on our mission. The device beeped, signaling that she had turned off her channel. I gathered up the bundle of rope and stuffed it into my bag, trying to ignore the feeling of fear in my stomach.

"Murph, I don't think Dani needs to see this." I stared solemnly at my twin, hoping he would understand where I was going.

"What do ya mean, Connor? She's lived with an FBI Agent, so she's probably been exposed to all sorts of shit." My jaw clenched and my teeth gritted together at his words. I only continued to stare at him, crossing my arms on my chest, exhaling a breath of air in silent frustration.

"Have ya forgotten where she was when we first found her? She was weak, soaking wet and covered with bruises…" I nearly hissed at him, the memory of that night invading my mind again. "She was lucky that motherfucker didn't kill her after he was done rapin' her like his own goddamn sex doll."

Murphy's hazel eyes alternated between softening with sadness and burning with angry vengeance as I talked, tightening his grip on the Rambo knife in his hand.

"I say we oughta go find him and send him a fuckin' message he won't even live to forget." A growl erupted from Murphy as he finished his threatening suggestion.

I nodded in understanding, thinking of how we could find the bastard who had the twisted set of mind to violate somebody as pure and lively as Danielle and hurt her in the most painful way imaginable.

Then, the sound of the buzzer sounded through the room, signaling the arrival of someone at the door. Taking precaution, we placed the masks back onto our heads, hiding our faces from view.

When Murphy and I got to the door, we both lifted up our ski masks to our foreheads and peeked through the peephole, expecting to see Dani. Instead, we were met with the sight of Rocco, wearing the uniform of a hotel employee. The tag on his chest was written on with the name "Jaffar". What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

"Poor bastard." I whispered, trying to suppress a laugh, my anger dimming down with this comic situation at hand. "This has got to be his big break. We've got to fuck with him…right?" I asked Murphy, who gasped in fake disbelief as he giggled like a little boy.

"Okay." He agreed with a laugh, pulling his mask back over his face. After I did the same, I shushed my brother, lifting up my gun as he opened the door…

Dani's POV:

I stood in the elevator, standing on my tiptoes as I waited to arrive at the fifth floor. To distract myself from my impatience, I thought back to what Murphy said about preparing myself for what I was about to see. I could handle seeing some dead bodies, right? I had seen plenty of photos of crime scenes since I had to do a research project about the criminals in Boston during my senior year of high school.

Still, I felt flattered that Connor and Murphy only wanted to keep what was left of my innocence intact, especially Connor. Yet, I wanted to prove to both of them that I wasn't just some weak damsel in distress that needed to be rescued all the time. I had enough trouble reading about them in books and hearing them whine in movies to the point where I wanted to punch the TV screen.

What's a young, petite, nineteen-year-old girl to do?

Finally, the elevator dinged as I arrived to my destination. Walking through the decorated hall, I kept my head down; making sure that any passersby couldn't see my face. Minutes later, I found the room Murphy had told me they were in.

As I came closer, I noticed that the door was halfway open. I slowly approached it, trying to see inside. The sounds of male voices yelling reached my ears as I entered the room, quickly closing the door before any attention was attracted. I gazed around the room, at the blood stains splattered on the walls, the bodies lying limp on the couch, and the two masked men tackling a familiar, bearded man on the ground.

Despite the nausea in my stomach at the gratuitous violence painted across the hotel room, I cleared my throat to get the men's attention. They both looked up and were quiet when they saw me standing there. Rocco sat up from his position on the carpet and stared at me, seeming to recognize me from the police station.

He turned around to see that the Irish twins had removed their ski masks. Then, he looked back at me, flabbergasted and confused beyond understanding.

"Wh…what the fuck is going on here?" Rocco demanded, standing up quickly as he looked back and forth between me and the boys. He turned back to Connor and Murphy, walking toward them as they wiped the sweat off their brows with the masks.

"What the fuck are you guys doin' here? I want some fuckin' answers now? And what the hell is this puny little bitch doing here with you?" He pointed toward me, still keeping his attention on the boys.

Connor suddenly grabbed Rocco by the collar of his jacket and pushed him against the wall. I nearly ran to stop him, but Murphy gently took hold of my elbow to keep me from interfering. This wasn't the first time a man had called me names before. Not since the terrible crime that had been forced on me…

I could hear Connor snarl at Rocco as a shiver ran down my spine. I had no idea how far this Irishman would go to protect me, even go so far as to threaten his friend that he knew far longer than he'd known me.

Feeling guilty, I broke away from Murphy and walked to where Connor released Rocco from his grip. "Connor, please. It's okay. Rocco doesn't know me. It's not a big deal." He turned to look at me, the blue flames of anger blazing in his eyes again. When he did that, it never failed to fascinate and frighten me at the same time.

"I don't give a shit, Danielle." I felt a lump in my throat as he growled out my full name. "You don't deserve to be disrespected like that. From now on, he's gonna watch his fuckin' mouth as far as you're concerned." He reached out toward my arm with his gloved hand, as if he wanted to rub my arms for comfort, but he withdrew it as Murphy let out a long whistle of annoyance.

"Shut the fuck up, Murph." Connor ordered, turning away from me. "We need to get out of here. Listen, we'll take separate exits and meet back at Rocco's place." He spoke to all of us, taking the role of leader in this odd little group.

He placed his hand onto the small of my back, his fingers lingering on the areas where my skin was exposed. Murphy softly patted my hair in reassurance, as if to tell me that he cared about my well-being in addition to his brother. "Don't worry, lass. If Connor can't protect ye, I'll be sure to do it for him. Hell, I can probably do a better fuckin' job than he can."

I saw him smirk at me as Connor groaned in exasperation as we headed down the stairway of the hotel.

Later, when we arrived to Rocco's apartment building, the first thing we did was explain to Rocco about my association with the boys and why they had just killed nine men in a public hotel room.

We all sat around the kitchen table, with me sitting in between Connor and Murphy. Needless to say, I felt completely safe despite the wary glances Rocco would give me.

"So, anybody you guys think is evil? Don't you think that's a little weird, a little psycho?" Rocco asked us in a tone that sounded like he thought we were crazy.

"Ya know what I think is psycho, Roc?" Connor asked, lighting up a cigarette. I fought the urge to cover my nose and not breathe in the smoke, but I didn't want to be rude.

He took a drag and blew out a puff of smoke, making my eyes water slightly. His voice sounded deep and solemn as he spoke, glancing at me as I listened to what he was explaining to his friend. I heard the cat, Skippy, meow as he rubbed himself against my ankle under the table.

"It's decent men with loving families. They go home every day after work and they turn on the news. Ya know what they see? They see rapists, and murderers, and child molesters; they're all gettin' out of prison." He briefly locked his vivid sapphire eyes with mine as he said the words "rapists". In a way, I could tell that this speech was meant for me, too.

"Mafiosos." Murphy cut in, cocking the empty pistol in his hand for emphasis. It made a loud click that shook the silence in the smoke-filled kitchen. "Gettin' caught with twenty kilos, and getting' out on bail. The same fuckin' day." The seriousness in Murphy's eyes caught me off guard. He wasn't bullshitting anybody when he spoke like that. He snapped his fingers as he said the word "fuck", as if to further give out his own point on the subject.

"What about you, sweetheart?" Rocco asked me, gesturing with his hand across the table from me. "What's your opinion on this fucked up society?"

Taking a deep breath despite the cigarette smoke, I laid both of my small hands on the table in confidence. "I believe that this world really is goin' down to the fucking pits of Hell. I am sick of constantly feeling like a helpless victim. Almost every day, when I was in school, I couldn't walk down the street without some pervert whistling at me or reaching out to grab my ass." A flood of angry tears came to my eyes as I stood up from my seat, leaning up with my hands firmly on the table.

I tore my jean jacket off my shoulders, revealing my black midriff-baring top. Rocco's eyes widened slightly as he saw my slim figure. Holding out my naked arms to him, I leaned over for him to see clearly. Purple bruises lay dotted on my arms, along with pink scars along my pale skin, making them stand out in the bright light of the kitchen. I leaned my head back so the light would shine on the bruises scattered on my neck.

"Do you see these, Rocco? This was what the scumbag did to me! He was a fucking asshole! He just grabbed me as I was walking home from the store, running an errand for my uncle. He took me into…that dark alley…and held me down…choked me with my whistle so I couldn't scream…" Sobs overwhelmed my voice as I slumped back down into my seat between my two saviors.

I felt completely idiotic, crying in front of three men that I had known for less than a week. Rocco only stared in utter silence as Murphy rubbed my back with his hand.

"It's alright, Dani. Everything is alright." He assured me in a brotherly tone, his voice soft and comforting.

"He'll get what's comin' to him, Dani. That I can fuckin' promise ya." Connor wrapped his arm around my shoulders, gently pulling me closer to him. I shivered as his warm skin touched mine, a wave of slight dizziness washing through my mind. Looking back to Rocco, I saw him stand up from his seat, staring at us in disbelief.

"Well…fuck. I only thought you were just some teenage tramp trying to get in bed with both of these bastards." He laughed as I shook my head at him, smiling through my dried tears.

"There's always more than meets the eye, Rocco." I raised my eyebrows in challenge as the boys chuckled. "I may be viewed as beautiful, but you never know just when I will kick your ass into next week."

I felt Murphy lean over me and stage whisper in Connor's ear. "She's makin' me fall in love with her." Then, without warning, Murphy pulled me out of Connor's arm and planted a big kiss on my cheek. I squealed in delight as Murphy laughed, pulling me onto his lap. Connor reached up and playfully smacked Murphy in the back of the head.

"Let the lass go, Murph. I'm the one who technically rescued her, remember? The one who carried her to safety like Sir fuckin' Lancelot." I didn't get the joke between them, but it didn't matter as Connor smiled, removing the shoes from my feet.

"No, no Connor!" I screamed in laughter as the charming Irishman tickled my feet. Murphy began to tickle my ribs, making me gasp for breath. "When it comes to havin' fun, Dani, we are pretty fuckin' dangerous." Both brothers growled in a playful fashion as they attacked me with tickles.

Rocco stood up from his chair, rolling his eyes at our battle of fun. "I'm gonna order us some pizza. I'm fuckin' starving."

Connor's POV:

All four of us were partying into the night, munching on pizza and drinking beer. Dani settled with Coca-Cola since she was underage.

"You fucking guys. You've ruined me. I'm fucking done. Permanent fucking package boy." Rocco droned on, taking a drink of beer.

"Who said that?" Murphy asked him, his mouth full of cheese pizza. Dani leaned on my shoulder, just listening to us talk. I could see her eyes begin to droop as she stared into space. "You could take credit on that, ya know?"

"What, are you serious?" Rocco asked my brother, his voice full of skepticism.

"Yeah, fuck it. If ya think about it, its all you can do, really. I mean, you can't go in there an tell 'em it was us." Murphy told Rocco, pointing his finger in emphasis.

"Climb the corporate ladder, boy. Don Rocco." I chuckled along with Murphy at my mocking of Rocco. Dani smiled in silent laughter with us.

"Fuck it. I'm doing it. I deserve it. I've been working for those fat bastards since I've been in high school. Look at this fucking place." He spread his arms around the messy apartment as Dani sat up, shaking her head to stay awake. "They're fucking me, man. They can suck my pathetic little dick and dip my nuts in marinara sauce, just so those fat bastards can get a taste of home while they're at it."

Murphy and Dani laughed with me at Rocco's rant.

"Fuck it. I'm doing it. It is…done!" He raised his arms, slamming both fists onto the table. One of them caught onto Murphy's loaded pistol, right next to where that fucking cat was lying…!

It all happened too quickly. There was the shot that boomed throughout the whole apartment, the alarmed meow of the cat, and the spatter of red blood splashing onto the wall like graphic paint.

I grabbed Dani up into my arms as she screamed in fright, pulling her out of her seat. I held her tight against my chest, practically carrying her to the kitchen entryway. Murphy stumbled toward us, cussing in confusion as he scrambled to get away from the table. Rocco went nearly hysterical, jumping up and grabbing at his chest, yelling that he was hit.

No, he was not…

He tore down a plant that hung from the ceiling as he jumped around the room, still checking under his shirt for bullet wounds. Then, he froze next to us as he saw the cat remains splattered on the wall.

"What the fuck!" Rocco yelled out amidst the awkward silence.

"I can't believe that just fuckin' happened!" Murphy exclaimed in baffled worry, pointing to the bloody mess.

"Is it dead?" I heard Rocco ask stupidly out of nowhere.

I just stood there, my tattooed arm wrapped around Dani's upper body, my arm covering her bare collarbone, just above her breasts. Her small hands grasped onto my forearm for support.

"Oh, my God! I…don't feel so good!" She gasped as she pushed my arm off. Before we could do anything, she bent down and vomited right onto the kitchen floor.

"Ah, shit!" Rocco groaned. "Now, I gotta clean up that, too!"

"Shut it, Roc!" I yelled, taking Danielle gently by the shoulders.

"I think…I just had too much pizza." She moaned as she leaned up against me, closing her eyes. Murphy grinned in a mocking way at me as he observed the situation at hand.

"Don't fuckin' start, Murph. She needs to go to bed now." I bent down and scooped her up into my arms. She groaned in protest, but wrapped one of her arms around my neck anyway.

"I don't need to be carried by a sexy man, especially an Irish one." I chuckled at her delirious statement as I walked to the bedroom.

"I thought all girls fantasized about that kind of shit. Ya know, always bein' saved by the brave hero." She looked up at me with blurry eyes as I carried her through the doorway and into the bedroom.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Connor MacManus?" She smiled at me as I laid her down onto the bed. "I grew out of that stuff only last week. I'm not as delicate as I look."

"I know, ye aren't, lass. That's why you're with the Saints of South Boston now." I reached down and tapped her nose with my fingertip. She smiled, giggling in a sugared-up way as she held back a yawn.

Jesus Christ, this girl was adorable beyond anything I knew…

"Well, we can't be killing people if one of us is sick. I better get some shut-eye." She pulled the blanket around her, snuggling against the pillow.

"We'll be out in the livin' room if ye need us." I felt the sudden urge to kiss her good night, at least on the forehead, but she was in a sugar stupor, so I couldn't take advantage of that opportunity. "Good night, alainn aingeal." I reached down and brushed her brunette hair off her forehead.

"Good night, my handsome bodyguard." She giggled as I smiled at her. She succumbed to another yawn, closing her eyes as she seemed to lose consciousness right in front of me. Her breathing slowed down into a calming rhythm as I turned away from her sleeping form. I opened the door to leave, looking back at her with one last glance, just to be sure that she was safe. Chuckling to myself, I walked away from the room, leaving the door cracked open…just in case of danger.

Murphy and Rocco were cleaning up the blood and vomit when I walked back in. My brother looked up from the messy floor as I slumped down onto the couch. "That was quick." He winked at me as I rolled my eyes in annoyance, feeling a hangover coming on.

"Fuck you, Murph. I just put her in bed, like the chivalrous Irishman that Ma raised me to be."

He raised himself off the floor and grabbed me by the shirt, tackling me onto the ground. "Admit it, Connor. Ya like the pretty lass." I managed to trap him in a headlock as Rocco looked on, shaking his head at our horseplay.

"This is gonna be a long fucking night, man." Our Italian friend slurred as my brother and I began to argue once again about who was the first to come out of our mother at birth.

Aye, it definitely was going to be a long, fucking night.

AN: The phrase Connor says to her as he says goodnight means "beautiful angel" in Irish. In case anyone was wondering…


	8. Chapter 8

Connor's POV:

"How's she doin'?" Murphy asked me early into the next morning. All three of us: Rocco, Murphy and I, sat around the table after we cleaned up the messes of Dani and the damned cat. We were all still somewhat plastered from our pizza party.

"She's fine. She went to sleep as soon as I laid her down in the bedroom." I leaned over to extinguish my cigarette in my ashtray.

"Have you slept with her yet, Connor? Don't take this the wrong way, but despite all those bruises she showed me, she has a great body, man." Rocco chuckled as Murphy leaned over the table and smacked Rocco on the shoulder with a hard whack.

"She's not just some piece of ass we're haulin' around, Roc. She's our friend." Murphy explained, his voice ridden with exhaustion and anger. "And she's been through a lot of shit in the last few days."

"I agree with Murph. If ya don't have anything nice to say to Dani, don't say shit to her." My forehead began pounding with a headache as I rubbed my temples with my fingertips.

"So, Connor, let me ask you something, as your best friend." Rocco said, puffing a ring of smoke out of his lips. "What is it with you and this chick?"

"I have no fuckin' idea, Roc. When Murph and I found her in that alley, I'd never seen anybody so broken in me life. Then, we were all attacked by those Russian bastards from McGuinty's. Afterwards, we got the Calling from God Himself for us to become Saints. Dani claims to have received the same thing, so that's why she's with us. I just wanna make sure that nothing else harmful happens to her. It pisses me off just thinkin' about how she looked in that fuckin' alleyway, lyin' there like a thrown away piece of trash."

My fist clenched around my burnt-out cigarette, crushing it into tiny bits of paper and ashes.

"Do you guys think she has the guts to do what you're doing? You know, killing people and all that shit?" Rocco asked, glancing at both me and Murphy.

"Just like she said. Dani may look vulnerable, but she has a lot of spirit in her. I can tell." Murphy turned his head to smirk at me.

"Aye, that she does, me dear brother. And she's pretty damn stubborn to boot." I agreed, grinning to myself as I thought of her getting angry about driving the getaway car. My guess would have been that you'd have hell to pay if you pissed her off.

.

.

.

.

I woke up on the floor the next morning, my head resting on my rolled-up pea coat. The sunlight from outside made me squint my eyes as I rubbed the sleep out of them.

Groaning from my uncomfortable position on the floor, I rolled over and saw Rocco waking up on the brown beanbag in the corner of the kitchen. As I sat up, the back of my head ached to have a smoke.

Murphy lay sprawled on the couch, his feet hanging off the edge of one of the cushions. I shook my head silently at my crazy brother, smirking to myself.

I walked to the bedroom to check on Danielle, who I was sure to still be asleep. Peeking in through the cracked door, I heard the soft sounds of her snoring as she turned onto her side. She seemed to be okay.

Rocco followed me outside as I lit up two cigarettes for us. We stood at the gate of the apartment grounds, watching the sun rise slowly in the gray Boston sky.

"Donna's gonna be angry about her cat." I told Rocco, trying to break the silence. He scoffed softly to me.

"She's on every drug known to man. She'd have sold the thing for a dime-bag. Screw her." He started laughing, looking down at the concrete under his feet. "I do kinda feel like an asshole, though."

"Yeah, Roc. Ya sound real remorseful there." I joked with a serious tone to my voice. Then, I knew I couldn't keep my concern from him anymore. "Listen, somethin's been botherin' me about last night."

"What?" He asked, taking a drag of smoke.

"What if your boss knew how many men were supposed to be in that hotel room?" I turned toward my friend, trying to hold his attention.

"Wh-what are you saying?" He smiled with a confused half-grin, throwing his cigarette onto the ground.

"Think about it. Nine men, six bullets?" I shrugged my shoulders to show him that I really was puzzled on this problem.

"You think they sold me out? No, no way." Rocco shook his head in denial, slightly stepping away from me.

"Look, he probably knew you'd end up nailin' the fat guy. Maybe one or two more, but he had to know ya weren't walkin' outta there. Think about it. The shooter's dead at the scene. There's no in-depth investigation. It'll just slide right off his fuckin' back. 'Cause what the fuck? As much I love ya, man, you're not exactly Don Corleone." I sighed to myself as I attempted to be brutally honest with my best friend.

"No, no. That's bullshit. You don't know what you're talking about. That's just not the way things are done. Besides, how does he know I see there's too many of them, just serve them their fucking food and beat it?" Rocco asked me, irritation sounding into his tone.

"Because he fuckin' knows ya, Roc! Any good shooter woulda seen that it was a fuckin' wash and slipped out. But, you, he knows this is your only shot. 'Cause ya waited eighteen fuckin' years?"

"No, you're wrong. That's not the way things are done around here. I mean, thanks for your concern and all, but that just ain't the thing of it."

"Just do me a favor. Roll it over for me on your way out. Will ya do that for me?" I saw Murphy come outside along with Dani, slipping on his pea coat.

"No, there's no rolling. Nothing needs to be rolled. Fuck." Rocco whispered the expletive to himself as Murphy and Danielle came closer to us.

"Where the fuck are you goin'?" Murphy asked Rocco, walking toward him. "Did ya tell him?" He turned toward me for an answer. Dani leaned against the wall next to me, rubbing her eyes as she yawned.

"O' course I fuckin' told him." I looked ahead, staring at the sprawling street in front of the apartment grounds, ignoring everyone around me.

"Man, what the fuck?" Murphy asked incredulously to Rocco.

"Come on. You guys don't know that shit for sure!" Roc was getting angry at our suspicions about his boss, "Pappa" Joe Yakavetta.

"You're such a fuckin' retard!" Murphy yelled at him, swatting at his arm.

"Hey, fuck you!" Rocco pushed Murphy backward, setting my brother off.

"Aw, man, use your fuckin' brain for once! Is it so unbelievable that they don't fuckin' care about ya?" Murphy held Rocco by the collar of his dark blue jacket, pushing him against the wall of the gate.

"Yea, like you two fucking micks know what' going on, huh? Fuck you both!" Rocco yelled at both of us from Murphy's grip, slightly jumping up and down on the ground.

"Roc, this is not a fuckin' thing you should gamble on, all right?" I shouted back at him. Mentally, I was pleased that Roc left Dani out of this discussion completely. In fact, he was basically ignoring her. I didn't care either way; I wasn't in the mood to deal with him insulting her right now.

"I'm the fuck outta here." Rocco spread his arms out in exasperation and walked away. Dani only watched with confused eyes, not saying one word during our entire shouting match. Murphy kicked one of the open gates with his foot in anger. The iron bars clanged against the concrete wall with a noisy echo.

"Fine! Fuck it! What kinda flowers ya want at yer funeral, ya dumb wop? It's the last time I'm gonna see ya!" My brother yelled out across the street to our retreating friend, walking back to the apartment.

"I'll be back at nine! Bury the fucking cat!" Rocco yelled back at us, walking further away.

"Listen, you get in there and ya start gettin' a bad vibe, you get the fuck out quick!" I ordered my friend, worried for his benefit. I sighed to myself as I noticed Dani still leaning by my side, staring at me with her vibrant, worried green eyes.

Dani's POV:

"What's going on, Connor? What's wrong with Rocco?" I asked him, feeling somewhat concerned for the Irishmen's Italian friend.

"It's nothin' ya need to be worried about, Dani." He focused his blue eyes on me, making a cold shiver flow up my spine.

"Really? Then what was all that damned yelling about?" I crossed my arms, keeping my eyes on his handsome face. Not that I was gonna let Connor's looks distract me…

"I fuckin' told ya, Danielle. It was none of yer concern." His eyes began to ignite with the fire again. I internally cursed the flaming brilliance of his eyes. And the way he used my full name whenever he was furious…

Damn you, irresistible Irishman!

"Fuck, Connor! If you're not gonna tell me what's going on, then what' the point of me being here with you?" I jabbed one of my little fingers into Connor's chest, pointing into the muscle that was evident under the dark t-shirt and pea coat.

"What the hell are ya talkin' about, Dani?" He rolled his eyes this time, a growl forming in his voice at the end of his question. I refused to be bullied, though.

"I'm part of this team, aren't I? You said that yourself last night. Or was that just a bunch of bullshit you were feeding me because I was exhausted and sick?" It was my turn to feel anger now, breathing hard out through my nostrils.

"Let me ask ye this, Danielle Smecker? Why did ya show up to the police station the other day? Why were ya so adamant about joinin' me and Murph on our crusade?"

"Because I know for a fucking fact that I had the same Calling that you did. Why would I make something like that up? Do you view me as a lying bitch, Connor MacManus?" I felt hot tears begin to burn my eyes as I pushed both of my hands against his chest. "Why…why did you even bother saving me in the alleyway? You didn't know me. You never met me before."

He only looked down at the concrete, breathing out a long sigh. As I looked up to the sky, I saw dark clouds cover the sun as a rumble of thunder erupted into the air around us. The wet raindrops splashed onto the top of my head, but I ignored it, staring at the stubborn man in front of me.

"You don't have an answer, do you?" We stared each other down in anger as the rain flooded down onto our heads in torrents.

"Danielle, ya don't know what you're talkin' about. Let's just go inside before we get soaked." He took a hold of my hand, pulling me back toward the building, but I refused to budge. My feet stayed planted firmly on the ground.

"So now you have the right to order me around? You're not my fucking father." I knew I sounded like a complete bitch to him, but I was pissed off and I loved the excuse to release my anger.

"I'm serious, girlie. Get yer skinny lil' ass in the apartment before I throw ya over me fuckin' shoulder and carry ya in meself." Now, this was one angry Irishman if I ever saw one before…

He gripped his hand tightly onto my wrist, but it wasn't so tight that it was painful. It was only to keep me from escaping his strong grip. My gaze briefly flitted to his wrist attached to the hand grasping mine, still scarred with torn skin and healing bruises, remembering how he had gotten them breaking free of his handcuffs to save his brother and me. Our faces were inches away from each other, allowing me to see closer into his ice-blue eyes, freezing me into place. I could feel his warm breath on my face as he came closer…closer…

Then, his lips were on mine as the thunder roared throughout the whole vicinity of Beantown. The way he kissed me was unfamiliar, yet I liked it. However, I didn't want to like it. His grip on my wrist loosened slightly as I kissed him back, angrily, passionately, but in confusion. Connor's lips were amazing to feel on mine, and I wanted more of it. Even though I'd only known him for a few days, I knew that he cared about me. And so did Murphy…

I felt his lips release themselves from mine, leaving me to almost drown in the flood of pouring rain. "Ya really are too fuckin' stubborn for yer own good, lass." He looked down at me, still keeping a good grip on my wrist, only he was smirking at me instead of glaring.

Way to ruin a tender moment…

"Screw you, Irishman." I snarled at him. Almost immediately, I regretted saying those words to him. I could feel the throbbing start in my veins from Connor's hold on my wrist, then it was gone as he removed his hand from my arm.

Before I knew what was happening, my feet were swept up from under me. I let out a small scream of surprise as Connor swung me up into his arms bridal style, once again, carrying me inside despite the fact that both of us were soaking wet from the rain. His arms held me gently against his chest, almost as if he were cradling a child. I could see that the rain had turned his blondish-brown hair into a light chocolate color similar to Murphy's hair, his trademark spikes dripping down with water.

His face was somewhat amused, yet irritated as I looked up at him, the sound of his boots echoing through the hallway of the apartment building. I noticed that his rosary hung in front of his shirt, dangling down where one of my hands rested against Connor's chest.

I didn't have time to inspect it as we arrived to Rocco's door. Instead of waiting for Murphy to open the door for him, he lifted one of his feet and kicked it open, all the while still holding me in his arms.

You could say we entered the place with a bang as the door burst open, crashing loudly against the wall. Murphy sat at the table, smoking a cigarette and reading a magazine. He looked up at us when the door connected with the wall.

"What the fuck were you two doin' out in the rain?" Murphy stared at our soaking wet clothes and hair, but Connor ignored him as he carried me to the couch and threw me down onto it. Luckily, it was cushioned with a bunch of pillows and a blanket.

"Don't fuckin' ask, Murph." Connor nearly growled at his brother as he took one of the blankets from the couch and covered me with it. I ducked under it, stripping myself of my wet black top. Underneath it, I wore a strapless white bra.

As I emerged from the blanket, halfway dressed in front of two men, I felt so angry that it was exhausting. Connor took off his own shirt, revealing his tan chest and the muscles I knew were there. His torso was sculpted perfectly where it wasn't bulky, but well-built enough to make my heart quietly skip a beat…

Murphy shook his head in disbelief as the phone rang in the deafening silence, making me jump inside the safety of the blanket.

"Hello?" Murph answered, holding the phone close to his ear. "Hey, Roc. You okay?" His soft voice held concern for his friend, making me feel guilty for lashing out at Connor. "No, ya sure you're okay?" Murphy responded to the voice on the other end of the line. I could make out some mumbled words, but then it was quiet as the dial tone sounded and the phone was placed back into its cradle.

The sound of raspy laughter from the hallway of the building caught my attention as we all turned our heads to see who it was. Two women, one a brunette and the other a curly-haired blonde, stumbled inside, cackling about something to each other.

Connor and Murphy glanced at them for a moment, shaking their heads in annoyance as they made their way toward me lying on the couch.

"Dani, this is Roc's girlfriend, Donna and her friend, Rayvie." Connor turned to me to introduce them, sitting down next to Murphy at the table, frowning in my direction.

I smiled at them politely, faking it. I knew they were both druggies, but I wasn't in the fucking mood for another conflict right then.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing on my couch?" Donna sneered at me, looking me up and down. I was only reminded that I was half-naked, but it failed to bother me at the moment.

"I got caught in the rain and am trying to warm myself up." I clenched my fingers around the blanket, attempting in vain to control my growing irritation.

"You mean you got caught fucking one these gorgeous hunks of man-meat in the rain? Yeah, anyone would believe that, you little slut." Rayvie added, nudging Donna in the elbow as she glanced at the brothers sitting at the table. They both appeared to be ignoring them.

"So, which one of them has the best cock?" Donna whispered, making me grit my teeth together.

"Don't you fucking talk about them like that, you coke snorting whore!" I stood up, pushing the blanket off me, revealing my white bra and soaking wet jeans.

"Don't you fucking insult her like that, you stupid bitch!" Rayvie pushed me back down onto the couch, raising her hand as if to smack me in the face. In the corner of my eye, I saw Connor and Murphy tense in their seats, preparing to come to my aid if need be.

Not this fucking time…

I caught Rayvie's wrist in my hand before she could slap me. "Who the fuck do you think you are? You don't have the right to hit me or insult my friends." I glared at both of them as the boys watched in the background, stunned at my aggressiveness.

"What are you doing here, anyway? Rocco can't make a fancy martini worth a shit?" Rayvie mocked me, staring at the bruises revealed on my stomach and chest.

"I'm just here hanging with the big boys in fucking Beantown." I cocked my head, smiling in a mocking fashion like I had seen Murphy do.

"Oh, I'm sure you're fucking all the hot guys in Boston, you beat-up little cunt!" Donna nearly laughed as Rayvie pulled her wrist out of my hand, snickering along with her.

That did it…

Yelling in rage, I pushed Donna down onto the floor, using my whole body to send us both to the carpet. She screamed as I pulled at her brown hair while she started clawing her sharp nails into my skin.

Rayvie then hoisted me off her friend, pinning me onto the ground underneath her. I growled like a goddamn lioness as I pushed one of my feet into her stomach, sending her tumbling onto the carpet. Pulling myself to my feet, I glared daggers at the two drugged up tramps.

"How do you like that, bitches? You just stay the fuck away from me! And if I hear you say one more word about either of these men, I'll make sure you wish you never set eyes on them!"

"Fuck you!" They both screamed at me in unison as I felt Connor's arms wrap around my waist from behind me. Murphy stood by us, his face locked in silent amazement at my display of defense.

"Fuck you! Make me a fucking martini you doped-up cocksuckers!" I struggled to get out of Connor's arms, not caring about the fact that I only had a bra covering my breasts.

"All right, Dani! That's fuckin' enough!" Murphy set his hand onto my shoulder as both women stood up and stomped out into the bedroom, giving me death glares before disappearing into their presumed crack den.

And I had just slept in that room last night…

Connor and Murphy only stared at me in stunned silence as I was released from the older twin's arms.

"Holy…fuckin'…shit…Danielle…" Both men gasped out each separate word in astonishment, not knowing what to say or do.

"I think I was wrong about givin' ya only the getaway car job. And ya can bet your ass that I am never wrong." Connor whispered, smiling at me as I tried to catch my breath.

"Well, I guess I'm not as helpless as you boys believed me to be." Murphy shook his head, grinning from ear to ear at me. He came to me and lifted me up from the floor, spinning me around the room.

"You, Danielle Smecker, are just like the lil' sister I never had." He pressed his lips to my forehead, setting me down gently onto the ground.

"C'mere, me lil' lioness." Connor sat down onto the couch, still without a shirt on, and patted his knee. "Come sit on your Irishman's lap." His wide smile made me want to squeal like a valley-girl as I crawled onto him, leaning my body against his warm chest.

Murphy sat next to him, lifting my outstretched legs up to place them into his own lap. I was physically and spiritually connected to both of these brothers and there was nothing or nobody that could break that bond.

All three of us just sat there, entangled with each other. Murphy rubbed my clothed legs with his hands, gently massaging my ankle with his fingers. Connor stroked my hair as I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of his heartbeat, feeling the deep rumble in his chest as he sighed, tenderly tracing the bruises on my torso with his fingers.

"I'm so sorry this happened to ya, Dani. I promise ya, nothin' like this will ever happen to ya again." His voice was hard and serious among the sound of the rain outside.

"This wasn't your fault, Connor. It could've happened to anyone. But, perhaps, if it hadn't happened, you guys never would've found me-" The look on both of their faces made me stop talking. They thought I was saying that my rape was a benefit for them meeting me.

"Nobody deserves to go what ya went through Dani. I swear to ya, we are gonna find that motherfucker and give him his due." Connor cupped my cheek in his tattooed hand. "I promise ya that, darlin'."

I could only nod as we came closer to each other again, our lips connected by a subtle presence that enveloped all three of us in our bubble of temporary calmness. From that moment, I knew that it was God who brought them to me, to pull me from the darkness of crime, death, and destruction…

And to prove that He made me to be a strong, capable woman worthy to be his fighting Angel…

While the wicked stand confounded, call me with Thy saints surrounded.


	9. Chapter 9

Connor's POV:

"Pack your shit! Pack your shit! We gotta get outta here! I mean, we gotta get out!" Rocco burst through the apartment in a frenzy, his long hair awry and soaked with sweat. Murphy and I nearly jumped out of our seats on the couch as Danielle fell out of our laps, landing on the carpet.

"Rocco, what the hell?" Dani demanded as she stood up, grabbing her jean jacket off the kitchen table to cover herself up. I followed suit, putting my dark shirt back on.

"What the fuck are ya talkin' about?" I asked our crazy friend, who started packing up a bunch of meaningless shit into a duffel bag: A collection of old records, empty beer cans…

"I fucking killed 'em all!" Rocco yelled at us, ignoring my question as he kept stuffing junk into the bag. Out of the hallway, I saw Rayvie and Donna stumble into the living room, obviously waking up from a bender.

"Rocco!" They both shouted to the stirred up Italian, who continued to pack his shit.

"Just calm down. Tell us what happened!" Murphy attempted to get our friend to gather himself together, but he refused to listen.

"You start getting excited, motherfucker!" Rocco grabbed the unplugged iron off the record dresser, waving it in Murphy's face. "We gotta go! Hurry the fuck up!" My brother followed him into kitchen, where he started tossing pots and pans out of the cupboard, letting them fall into the bag.

Murphy seemed to give up at calming down our friend in his crazed rampage. Instead, he grinned as Rocco retreated back to the living room. "Alright, I love this shit!"

"Did someone threaten ya, Roc?" I questioned him, leaning up against the wall.

"What did I do in the middle of Lakeview?" Rocco nearly sobbed in an almost comical way as what he said dawned on me.

"Lakeview, the deli, Roc?" I asked in disbelief as Dani and Murphy came to stand by me. My brother had his arm around her shoulders in casual sibling-like way.

"Looks like we got us a new fuckin' recruit!" Murphy shouted enthusiastically, lightly tickling Dani in the ribs. She giggled at him, pushing her small fists into his chest.

"ROCCO!" Donna and Rayvie screamed, making our comrade stop in his tracks.

"WHAT?" He roared back at the hammered up girls. They both were slumped on the couch, staring at Rocco in anticipation.

"Where's my cat?" Donna asked, staring up at him. Dani held back a small laugh. The shit was about to really hit the fan…

Rocco dropped the bag in stunned disbelief as the rest of us started to pack up our stuff to leave.

"I killed your cat, you druggie bitch!" He stood above both women as they both looked on in shock.

"What! WHY?" Donna demanded, her baggy eyes growing wide with confusion.

"I felt it would bring closure to our relationship. " The Italian package boy threw out his arms in exasperation.

"You killed my…my…" Donna trailed off as she seemed to forget what she called her cat.

"Your what? Your fucking what, bitch?" He grabbed Donna by the elbow and took out his small six-shooter from the hotel room, pointing the weapon to his own head. "I'll shoot myself in the head if you can't tell me that cat's name! Go ahead. Your what? Your precious little…"

"S…Skippy. Skippy!" She stuttered out to him.

Rocco groaned at her, his hand trembling as he held the tiny gun tightly to his temple. "Oh, Jesus! What color was it, bitch?" He questioned her again.

"Don't you fucking yell at her like that, you prick!" Rayvie yelled at him, defending her friend.

"SHEEEUUUT YOUR FAT ASS, RAYVIE!" He pointed the small gun straight at her head as she cowered on the couch. I turned around to see Dani's eyes filled with slight fear for the girls, despite that she had a real catfight with them only an hour ago. "I can't buy a pack of smokes without running into nine guys you fucked!"

Frustrated, Rocco stuffed the pistol into his pocket and turned away from the crying women on the couch. I gathered up my pea-coat and grabbed Danielle's hand, pulling her along as we walked out of the destroyed apartment.

"Those rat fucks! They were all laughing at me, man." Our friend grumbled as we made it to his car.

"You're sure ya killed 'em, Roc?" Murphy asked as we put our bags into the back seat.

"Fucking A right, I did. I had a goddamn turkey shoot over there!"

"Listen, Roc. Did anybody see ya?" I asked him, opening the car door for Dani to climb in the middle of the passenger seat. Rocco threw his car keys over to me as I went to the driver's side.

"Man, I might as well have gone around posting flyers! Right out in public." Rocco cried onto the roof of the car as Murphy tried to comfort him.

"It's liberatin', isn't it?" My twin asked him as I closed the door to the driver's side.

"Let's fuckin' go!" I yelled out to them, getting impatient. Dani set her small hand onto my shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. She stared up into the sunglasses that I wore over my eyes, her own set of emerald green eyes quietly telling me to calm down.

"Settle down, Connor. It'll be okay." She whispered in a small voice as Murphy climbed into the passenger seat next to her and Rocco got into the back seat.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded at her and started the car, pulling out into the main street.

Murphy turned over to Dani and smiled at her. "Ya know, Dani, if ya feel cramped, yer always welcome to sit in Connor's lap. Come on, Conn. Ya know yer dyin' to hold her."

"Jesus Christ, Murph." I clenched tighter onto the steering wheel, trying to control my aggravation.

"Ya shoulda seen what happened to 'im at work the day we found ya, Dani. He fuckin' got beat up by the largest lesbian I'd ever seen." Murphy laughed as he threw his arm around her shoulders, chuckling into her hair.

"Wow. Why'd she beat you up, Connor? What'd you do?" She smiled up at me as I turned to smirk at her, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"I tried to make friends and she gave me a shot to the nuts." Dani winced as I told her of the incident that my brother would never let me live down.

"Oh, my God. She sounds like a dirty bitch." I chuckled at her as I remembered those very words that my mother used when Murph and I told her about our St. Patrick's Day agenda.

"I swear, Dani. It was the funniest, bloodiest, most badass St. Paddy's Day ever!" Murphy nearly shouted in triumph as I shook my head at him in annoyance.

"Hey, Murph. You remember last year when Connor had that girlfriend… she used to have this hilarious nickname for him." Rocco added in from the backseat.

"That's right, Roc. I can't remember what the hell it was she used to call him. What do ya think…Conny?" Murphy nearly burst out laughing along with Rocco as I rolled my eyes.

"That's a bunch of crap, Murph. Why do ya still call me that? Me name's not Conny. I never heard that name before in me life." I turned to Dani and gave her a wink.

"I don't know why yer tellin' her that, Conn. You've already made quite the impression on our lil' Danielle. Hell, I know you've already made out with her in that fuckin' rainstorm earlier." Murphy smiled at me as he lit up a cigarette.

"I fucking knew you had the hots for her, Connor! Now that's what I call a score! Give me five, man!" Rocco held up his palm toward me, but I only glared at him through the rearview mirror.

"Roc, this is not a fuckin' 'give me five' moment'. Besides, Danielle's sittin' right next to me. She can hear every word you and Murph are sayin'." I glanced down at her as she leaned her head against my shoulder; I fought the urge to kiss the top of her head, even in the quickest instant.

"Guys, will you please not talk about me like I'm not here?" She asked us, closing her eyes against the sleeve of my t-shirt.

"Anything fer you, Danielle." Murphy reached over the back seat, took his pea-coat out, and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Thanks, Murphy. You're my hero." She leaned up toward my brother and kissed him on the cheek.

"Connor, stop the car. Stop the fucking car, man!" Rocco ordered as we came to a building with a huge neon sign that read 'Sin Bin'.

"What is this place?" Danielle asked us, staring at the entryway of the porno parlor. The way she asked her question painfully reminded me of the innocent naivety that she still possessed. I wrapped my arm around her waist as if I were welding her to my side and keeping her from being exposed to such a perverted environment.

"Vincenzo, that fat motherfucker. Yakavetta's right hand. He's the one who set me up, telling everyone I was as good as dead. Goes in there every Wednesday night, jerks off to the same titty dancer. He never misses." Rocco explained to us in a rush.

"Gross. That's disgusting." Dani cringed beside me, making goose bumps form on her slender arms. I was pleased to see that most of her bruises had faded away.

"So, I was thinking we could kill the motherfucker. I mean, that's your guys' new thing, right?" Rocco sounded desperate.

"Yea, well…" I only shrugged as I leaned one of my arms outside the open car window.

"Oh, what the fuck? How do you make the cut? Is there a raffle or something?" Rocco continued to beg us.

"Well, to tell ya the truth, those first ones sorta fell into our laps." Dani turned around to explain to our friend.

"We don't really have a system of deciding who, Roc." I told him honestly, leaning back against my seat.

"Me! Me! I'm the guy! I know everyone, their habits, who they hang out with, who they talk to. I got phone numbers, addresses, I know who they're fucking, I know where they live! We could kill everyone." Rocco ended his rant calmly as he said that last gruesome sentence.

"So what do ya think?" Murphy asked me, glancing in my direction.

"I'm strangely comfortable with it." I agreed, secretly surprised with myself.

"I'm going with you guys." Dani piped up, sliding off Murphy's pea-coat. I slightly tightened my arm around her waist, clenching my jaw in frustration at her stubbornness.

"No, you're not. Do you have any idea what kind of place the Sin Bin is? It's where sick perverted bastards go to jerk off in the vilest ways possible. Men just like the bastard that did this to you." I held up her arm to show a large purple bruise in the middle of her arm that hadn't disappeared yet.

I removed my sunglasses so she could look into my eyes. She fixed me with a green-eyed glare, her mouth set into an angry frown. God, I wanted to just kiss her right then and there…

"I…am…coming with you." She nearly growled out, her voice filled with a tone of finality. Murphy and Rocco only listened in silence as she once again shot me down in my attempt to protect her.

A sound formed in my throat, something between a growl and a hiss of fury. "Fine, but, if anyone in there tries to touch ya, I'm gonna break every bone in their fuckin' body."

"You don't have to, Connor. Nobody said you have to protect me from anybody." She folded her arms across her chest. Dani turned to Murphy for an answer, but he only silently stared at her with the same serious gaze I was fixing her with.

"Danielle, killing off criminals wasn't the only task God ordered me to do for Him." Feeling hurt and pissed off, I opened the car door and got out, slamming the door angrily.

I stalked away from the car and into an alley between the Sin Bin and another building. Taking my lighter out of my pocket, I lit up a cigarette, mentally questioning God what I should do.

Gazing around the darkness of the alley, I searched for something to strike, an object I could take out my anger on. I saw a silver trash can leaning against the brick of the building, but it only brought back the memory of her laying there among the trash, soaking wet, bruised, and alone.

For a brief second, I saw her body lying there sprawled on the hard ground, injured, lifeless, bleeding…

My fury increased as a loud growl erupted from me, echoing into a roar of rage in the narrow alleyway. I stomped over to the trash can and kicked it with all my might, sending it flying down across the small space of brick wall.

To my surprise a sob built up in my throat, but I choked it back as I leaned against the wall again, catching my breath.

Then, I felt a small hand touch my shoulder. "Connor?" The small, sweet voice asked with concern for me.

I faced her in the alleyway, trying to compose myself. Her eyes were gentle and curious, showing the innocent little angel I wanted to keep from harm.

"It's going to be okay, Connor. Nothing is going to happen to me." She leaned up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I bent down and wrapped my arms around her waist.

Hell, it would've been easier for us to hug if I lifted her up off her feet. She was small enough for it. So, naturally, I did just that.

I stood up straight, enfolding my arms tighter around her waist, picking her up to hold her against me. She gasped in surprise as I very gingerly pressed my lips on hers. Dani's fingers began to tangle into my hair.

What was happening to us? What the hell were we doing?

In that very moment, I wanted to forget everything except that I wanted her. My male instincts desired to do much more than what she and I did this morning.

I felt her legs wrap around my waist as I walked to the wall closest to me, gently pressing her soft body against the hard bricks. Our lips entangled together in an intense fight of passion, separating unwillingly as I leaned back to look closely into her beautiful face.

"Connor…Conn…" Her voice trailed off as I moved my lips to her throat, kissing each bruise as tenderly as I could without pressing too hard.

Her gasps became more intense, almost as if she were losing her breath. Danielle's tiny hands moved down to my shoulders, gripping tightly onto my shirt. I continued kissing her neck as she tried to breathe properly. Her gasps became louder in my ears as my heart began to beat faster in my chest, my legs slightly shaking.

What the fuck was I doing right now? I was having a goddamn make-out session with a girl right in the type of area where she had been cruelly assaulted.

"Shit, Danielle. I…I don't know what came over me." I pulled my face away from her neck, still holding her body close to mine. She stared straight into my eyes with confusion, jumping off me and back onto the ground.

I felt more ashamed of myself than I had ever felt in my life.

"Connor…I don't really know what to say…" She wrapped her arms around herself as she slowly backed away from me. "I…think I better go back to the car…" Dani turned away and walked out of the alley, hanging her head.

A stronger surge of anger flowed through me as I stared at her retreating figure. I could barely think straight as I slowly followed her out of the alleyway, pulling my rosary out from under my shirt, clutching onto it as if it were my only source for answers to my questions.

All I knew for certain was that I wouldn't allow my feelings for her get in the way of God's mission for me: To kill every last motherfucker who meant to hurt her.


	10. Chapter 10

Dani's POV:

"Though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of death, I shall fear no evil."- Psalm 23:4

When Connor and I arrived back to the car, we all voted on if I should go inside the Sin Bin with them. Rocco agreed, much to my surprise, telling me that he wanted to see if I had what it took to be a vigilante like the boys.

Murphy had complete faith in me, allowing me to carry my own six-shooter in my jacket along with my pocketknife.

Obviously, my self-appointed protector was the only one who voted against me going inside with them. As he voiced his opinion on the subject, he gripped the steering wheel so tightly in his hands that I thought he was going to tear it right out of its holding place.

"Danielle, I'm tellin' ya. It's not safe in there fer ya." He once again began to argue.

"Connor, this isn't about me being safe. This is about me showing the ability to do what God called on me to do for Him. You even told me that you thought I was strong… just please let me prove that to you." I begged him in the silence of the darkened car.

The sun had already set, with the clock on the dashboard reading 9:45 p.m. Our guy was supposed to arrive at any moment.

"Come on, Conn. Ya saw her kick the girls' asses back at Rocco's place. She's the spunkiest bonnie lass I've ever met." Murphy playfully smoothed out my hair over my head.

"Aw, shit. I can't believe I missed that action! I really underestimated you, Dani." Rocco reached over the backseat and lightly punched me in the arm.

"Careful, Roc. She's still got a few bruises there." Connor muttered, staring out the window at the night-time traffic. He seemed to be ignoring us completely.

I groaned in irritation, wanting to climb out of the car through the sunroof and go inside by myself. "Look, Connor. If you want me to stay in the car, you oughta just tie me to the front seat with your fucking rope."

He turned his head to look at me, a small smile forming at the corner of his lips. "You're really tryin' to test me, aren't ya, lassie?" Connor chuckled deeply; his blue eyes alight with dark humor.

"I consider it payback for testing my trust for you in that alleyway, Irishman." I crossed my arms on my chest as Murphy tried to hold back his snickering.

"Oh, fuck, Connor. What'd ya do?" He asked of his twin between his coming laughter.

"None of yer fuckin' business, Murph." Connor nearly growled at his brother, taking a hold of my hand in his.

"Oh, I knew it, Connor. You're totally fucking her, man! I didn't know you were such an animal! Give me a double high five!" Rocco held up both his palms to Connor, grinning from ear to ear.

Suddenly, Connor released my hand and grabbed Rocco roughly by the collar of his shirt, leaning up on the driver's seat.

"I fuckin' told ya not to talk about her like that, Roc. She is not some skank we found on the side o' the road. This girl did not deserve one goddamn thing she has been through. So, ya better watch yer fuckin' mouth." Connor softly threatened his friend.

Murphy rubbed my shoulder, his own blue eyes staring in anger to Rocco. "I agree, Roc. Ya watch what ya say about her, 'cause I'll be listenin' too."

I sighed, leaning back against the seat of the car in aggravation. This was going to be one hell of a mission…

.

.

.

We stood in the middle of the porno parlor, Connor and Murphy both flanking each side of me. Rocco held his gun to a young stripper with black mascara and a short haircut. She struggled to get out of his grip as he ordered her not to make any distractions, holding one hand over her mouth.

"Scream and you're dead! Which one is he in? And don't act you don't know who the fuck I'm talking about!"

She pointed over to a large silver door with a tiny peephole. Peering through the holes in my ski mask, I walked closer to the door to peek inside. What I saw mortified me…

A chubby man with sunglasses and an Elvis-like hairdo was masturbating in front of a TV screen. The visual itself was disgusting. But, it was what I heard him say that made my heart nearly stop.

"Don't you talk to me like that, you dirty little girl. Yeah, give it to Daddy."

As I felt Connor pull me away from the door with haste, I began to mentally relive that horrid nightmare. I knew that man's voice from the alley. The way he used those very same words with me as he held me down, choking me with my whistle chain, gagging me with his hand, sweating and panting on top of me as I attempted to scream…

"What's wrong, Dani?" Murphy's voice broke through my thoughts with urgency.

"G…guys…I think we just found the bastard who hurt me." I only managed to whisper as I felt Connor's arm wrap around my shoulders.

I looked up to see both of the MacManus brothers staring at me, then back to the door with the peephole. Both of the men stayed silent, each pair of blue eyes flaming with brilliant infernos of anger and impending violence.

"What?" Both of them nearly shouted out in unison, as if they were feeding off of the other's silent fury.

Now, this man was definitely going to pay, but I could tell by the looks on Connor's and Murphy's faces that it was not going to be a quick and painless death for Vincenzo Lappazzi…

.

.

Connor's POV:

My grip around Danielle tightened as Murphy and I stared at each other in silent fury. I didn't want to believe it. This was really too fucking big of a coincidence.

It was true I had numerous plans of what I would do if we ever found the son-of-a-bitch who assaulted little Dani. I'd tear him limb from fucking limb, make him suffer like she must have and not feel a single hint of regret for it.

Every mark he left on her body I would double on his worthless ass…

I shook myself out of my violent thoughts as I stared down at the girl clutching onto me. Her ski mask was pulled up to her forehead, revealing her flushed cheeks and beads of sweat running down her temples.

"Danielle, look at me." I softly ordered her. My gloved hand gently turned her head around for her to see my face. She gasped as she stared up at me, her Irish green eyes glowing with tears. Her small body began to tremble as I enfolded her into my arms.

"Connor…I…I…" She stuttered as I tried my best to comfort the scared young woman in my embrace.

"Dani, are ya absolutely sure that Lapazzi is the bastard who did this to ya?" I asked her, my voice thick with worry and rage. My hands grasped onto her shoulders to cease the shivering of her tiny frame.

"Yes, I remember that night clear as fucking day…and it scares me so much." The tears flowed down her cheeks, causing my lividness to consume my mind.

"Let's take him out right fuckin' now!" Murphy snarled as he cocked his 9mm pistol.

"So, Vincenzo is the crazy fucker that got to you, Dani? Man, this is just fucking perfect!" Rocco grinned as I glared at him, holding the young girl close to my side. Looking down, I saw that the stripper had passed out cold at Rocco's feet.

"C'mon, I'll take ya back to the car." I wanted to get her as far away from that scum-bag as possible; not to mention that I didn't even want her to set one foot into this fucked-up place. Taking her hand into mine, I walked toward the door we had come through, hurriedly pulling her along.

"No, Connor. I'm not going back to the goddamn car." She stopped to a halt in her tracks, her feet planted firmly onto the ground.

"Danielle, I'm not lettin' ya see what we're gonna do to this sick motherfucker." I nearly growled at her, trying to make her understand that I was being serious.

"Well, I'm not gonna just watch helplessly by the sidelines while you do the work for me. And don't you dare try to carry me to the car either." Her voice held a determined tone that genuinely surprised me. I released her hand from mine as I sighed in silent exasperation.

"This is the real deal, Dani. Evil man, dead man." She followed me back to where Murphy stood watching us, a small grin of confidence forming on his lips.

"I'm not gonna let him get by easily with what he did to me." She pulled out the small six-shooter out of the pocket of her jean jacket. "Don't worry; I know how to use it." Dani smirked at me as I stared at the miniature gun with suspicion.

"Don't worry, sweet Dani. Connor and I will be right here if he tries anythin' on ya." Murph rubbed her shoulder gently as she tightened the jean jacket around herself.

"Open the door, Rocco." She ordered, her voice empty of any fear she had before.

"With fucking pleasure, Dani." Our friend stepped forward and pushed the button to reveal the pervert in the small room. The metal door slid upwards, showing the glass door that shut him off from noticing us.

"Dani, put the mask back over your face." I told her as gently as I could despite the growing anger at her being exposed to this.

She obeyed, pulling the black mask over to conceal her identity. Murphy stepped to the side and grabbed a nearby wooden chair. Grunting with effort, he threw it into the glass door, shattering it into a million pieces.

Vincenzo shouted out in shock as Murph and I jumped through the glass hole to grab him and drag the asshole into the parlor room.

"What fucking gives?" He yelled out at us as we roughly pulled him out by the collar of his shirt.

"You shut yer fuckin' mouth!" Murphy snarled as I kicked him in the back of his head with the heel of my boot. I hoped he bled from the inside out. Both of us held one gun each to the back of his head, fingers prepared to pull the trigger.

Vincenzo slumped down onto his knees as he groaned. "Who the fuck are you guys?"

Then, he looked up as Danielle pulled her mask up off of her head, her long brown hair flowing around her. Her eyes were blank with any emotion except anger, the six-shooter trembling in her hand.

"Well, hello there, gorgeous. You remember me? 'Cause I sure as hell remember you." The bastard leered at her as she grimaced in disgust at him. Much to my raging displeasure, he reached toward her with his hand, his fingers aiming out to touch her crotch area. I couldn't stop the growl that sounded from my chest. Reaching down, I grabbed onto the gold necklace around his neck and pulled it tight, clasping it around his chubby throat.

I leaned down near Vincenzo and snarled in his ear. "Do ya see that girl over there? Ya hurt her really bad. And shit-heads who prey on innocent women don't deserve to live. Now, we're gonna leave it up to this lass to see what happens to ya."

He choked against the gold chain around his neck, grasping onto it with his hands, but my grip on it was too tight.

Murphy leaned down near our victim's ear as I stood up, still holding my gun to Lapazzi's head. "That lil' lass over there is me sister. And nobody fucks with an Irishman's baby sis. We're gonna make sure you suffer ten times more than she ever did, motherfucker." My brother growled out with as much ferocity as I did.

We both stood up straight, keeping our guns to the back of his skull. Danielle slowly walked in front of Vincenzo, her head held up high, her green eyes locked on her attacker. She cocked the six-shooter easily with her small hands, striding toward Lapazzi with a graceful strength that made my heart burst with pride in her.

Dani lifted her foot and smashed it hard against Vincenzo's face. I could hear the sickening crack of his nose being broken, the agonized moan of pathetic pleading… "You…you fucking little bitch. I know you enjoyed it. I…gave you the greatest pleasure of your life…you useless piece of pussy." The scum-bag gasped out the nasty insults to her as the blood boiled over in my veins. However, the girl seemed to be unfazed by the disgusting comments aimed at her.

She knelt down before him and held the gun to his manhood, vengeance gleaming in her eyes. She closed them as she held her head up toward the Heavens. Her voice whispered a prayer that was all too familiar to my ears.

"Our Father, Who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the Kingdom, the power

And the glory of forever and ever.

Amen."

She clicked the hammer back with her small finger and pulled, staring into the eyes of the man who did her wrong…

"I hope its as good for you as it is for me." My angel of vengeance breathed out a deadly whisper, flourishing in strength and courage.

.

.

Dani's POV:

The blast of the bullets echoed throughout the entire room as blood splattered onto my clothes and face. I held back my scream of shock as I stared at the fallen, castrated man in front of me.

After I pulled myself back up on my wobbly legs, Connor and Murphy pulled back the triggers on their respective weapons and finished off our victim with synchronized finesse.

I stood up from my kneeling position as I dropped the gun from my hands. My breathing came out in shaky gasps as I felt Connor's arm around my waist and Murphy was by my side, gently wiping the blood off my face with his mask.

My stomach lurched at the sight of my blood-covered hands...

Despite the weight of my heavy deed, I felt the guilt and anger leave my heart, making me feel light as a feather. I felt too light…

I heard Connor and Murphy murmur my name as the lightheadedness grew stronger. My legs began to shake as I tried to catch myself against the wall.

Before I could fall, I felt a pair of strong, warm arms lift up my tired body, holding me gently against their chest.

"Let's get the hell outta here." I felt the deep voice rumble in the chest I was cradled against. I knew without asking that it was Connor carrying me away from the world he wanted to protect me from.

I closed my eyes again, trying to block out the violent portrait we had painted across the porno parlor. Connor's lips brushed against my forehead as I felt myself smile with morbid pride.

"Ye did it, me sweet lil' Dani. It's all over now. That bastard will never haunt ye again." I heard him whisper in my ear. My mind was slowly slipping away into unconsciousness, as if it wanted to temporarily shut down after the trauma of killing another human being.

"I know, Connor. Now…I feel so tired." I managed to whisper as I felt my fingers clutch onto the rosary that hung from his neck.

"It's all right, Dani." Murphy whispered at Connor's side, brushing some hair off my forehead. "Ye can sleep, we're done fer tonight."

I used my last bit of strength to peer through my eyelids at the Irishman holding me in his arms. His blue eyes stared straight ahead in the darkness, and then looked down at me with concern and affection.

"Me brave angel." He murmured to me, his accent sending a shiver down my spine as he bent down to touch his forehead to mine. "Me strong heroine."

I sighed in contentment as all the noisy city sounds of Boston faded from my ears and the blackness overwhelmed me. "My Irish knight. My guardian angel."

The last thing that went through my mind as fell into safe sleep was the phrase written on the door that led to the room we had just exited: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.


	11. Chapter 11

Connor's POV:

We exited the Sin Bin in silence, with little Danielle asleep in my arms. Her hands grasped onto my rosary as she snuggled closer against me. When we finally made it to Rocco's car, Murphy opened the backseat door for me, allowing me to slide inside without jostling her too much. My brother took the wheel with Rocco in the passenger seat.

The car moved forward down the street, away from the crime scene we had created in our wake of vigilance. Neither of us said a word for awhile, tired from our mission. I gazed out the car window, casually stroking Danielle's hair with my fingers. I heard her sigh as she held on tighter to my rosary. Her head lay against my chest, with her body cradled in my lap.

Needless to say, it felt wonderful to hold her.

Even though I wasn't pleased that she had to witness Lappazzi being blown to pieces, I was secretly proud of her for taking matters into her own hands and standing up for herself. She was a strong young woman and I had been more than amazed by her display of it in the past 24 hours.

"Hey, is anybody hungry? Maybe we should stop at a diner or somethin'." Murphy spoke up from the front seat.

"Yeah, man, good idea. I'm starving." Rocco added, turning around to look at me.

I felt my stomach growl at the mention of food. Dani stirred in her sleep, breathing softly in the darkness. "Yeah, I think we oughta stop somewhere. I'm pretty hungry meself, and I haven't seen Dani eat anything all day."

It was settled. We stopped at a late night coffee shop to get some food for the night. After we parked the car, I gently woke up the girl sleeping in my lap. I tenderly placed my hand on her cheek as her eyes slowly opened. She slightly groaned as she held back a yawn.

"Connor? Guys, where are we?" She asked us, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"We're at a coffee shop to get somethin' to eat, Dani. Ya wanna come inside with us?" Murphy asked her from the driver's seat.

"Okay, that's fine." Her voice still dripped with sleep. I smirked at her as I opened the car door and climbed. Dani slowly crawled out behind me. I held my hand toward her to help her out, but she managed to balance herself against the car as she set her feet onto the asphalt of the parking lot.

She placed her small hand into mine as we all walked inside the diner. There were only two other customers present, so it felt safe to sit down without anyone recognizing us. Murphy and I ordered coffee while Dani asked for a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

Rocco sat across from us at our table, a rare serious look in his eyes.

"Alright, let's talk some business. I know a sick fuck who makes the ones we've been doing look like altar boys. Worst night of my life when I met this guy. He never says a fucking word to me. We're driving twenty-five minutes, never a sigh, no throat-clearing, nothing. This guy takes out a whole family; wife, kids, everyone. Like he's ordering a fucking pizza. I knew that if I didn't keep it together, it was my ass. He has a poker game out back of his place with a bunch of wise guys every Saturday. Worst day of my life, man."

Rocco hung his head in defeat as he finished his tale. I looked over to Dani and Murphy beside me.

"Well, I'm sold." Murphy declared to Rocco, staring straight at our friend.

"Don't worry, Roc. We'll do this guy right and you'll feel a lot better." I told him calmly. I could feel Dani's eyes on me, and I knew she was about to state her take on the situation.

"I'll be there to help, too." She piped in, her voice filled with no sign of backing down. I stared at the determined young girl with reluctant pride for her bravery and slight fear for her safety.

I chuckled and smirked at her, shaking my head in disbelief. Silently, I asked God for advice on what I was supposed to do. Why was she doing this to me? Why was she pulling my emotions in opposite directions?

One part of me was proud of the internal strength she possessed, a little lioness waiting to be released from her cage. Another part of me saw the lost, injured girl in the alleyway, trapped by a traumatic assault that would haunt her for life.

I knew very well that God gave me the mission to protect her as long as she was with us, the Saints of South Boston. Then again, what if God wasn't the only reason I was so driven to keep this girl safe? She was becoming much more to me than part of His job for me as a Saint, a protector of the innocent.

Hell, she already was a lot more to me. Danielle Smecker was something else entirely.

And I would make sure no harm came to her…no matter what.

.

.

.

.

Later, we arrived to the house of Rocco's mother. She was on an exotic cruise for the past couple of weeks, so she wouldn't be back for awhile. Murphy and I volunteered to sleep in the living room while Dani took Roc's mom's bedroom. There was also a bathroom where she could take a shower for the night. It was midnight, so we were all pretty exhausted.

As Murphy and I unpacked our weapons and gear, I could the sound of water running through the pipes, meaning that she was taking a shower. Rocco lay slumped in the big recliner with his feet propped up, snoring loudly.

Murphy turned on the small lamp next to the sofa as I removed my pea-coat, wiping some sweat off my brow. My brother pointed to another small bag lying beside our duffel packs.

"Looks like Dani forgot her knapsack. Ya gonna take to it her?" Murph raised his eyebrows as I sighed in annoyance.

"I suppose I will, Murph. I don't want her to be embarrassed in a house full o' men." I grabbed up the small knapsack full of her clothes, pocketknife and walkie-talkies and headed down the hallway toward the bedroom.

I couldn't hear the water running anymore, so she was probably drying herself off in the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, I softly knocked on the bedroom door, hoping I wouldn't startle her.

"Dani?" I asked her from outside the door. "Ya left your bag in the livin' room, so I'm gonna leave it out in the…" Before I could finish, the door opened, revealing lovely little Danielle wrapped in a white towel, her long brown hair dripping wet with water.

"…hallway fer ya." I whispered the rest of my sentence, standing there in amazement at the sight of her.

Her green eyes stared back at me as she clutched the towel tighter around her, the skin on her arms shaking with goose-bumps. I looked away from her, staring down at the carpet. Feeling like a complete ass-hole, I placed the bag at her feet, being careful not to look at her almost naked form.

"I…I'm sorry, Dani. I didn't mean to bother ya." I placed my focus on her face instead of her body, seeing no sign of anger or embarrassment in her adorable expressions.

"It's alright, Connor. Thank you for getting my bag for me." She smiled at me quietly, wringing some water out of her hair. "Do you…want to come in? I'll just put some clothes on in the bathroom. I was kind of hoping you and I could talk."

"Yeah, sure. Wh…whatever ya want." I agreed as she opened the door wider to let me in.

I sat down on the bed while she took a nightgown out of her backpack and entered the bathroom to change, closing the door behind her.

A few minutes later, she emerged back into my view, her wet hair brushed and straight, wearing a green nightgown with straps on her shoulders, revealing the white straps of her bra underneath them. I had never seen her wear the color green before. Jesus, I could have sworn there was an angel standing before me, cleansed in Holy water.

I saw a few more of the dark bruises on her bare legs, a small frown forming on my face as my eyes gazed along her body. "Are you okay, Connor?"

Her voice pulled me out of my thoughts, her eyes staring at me with concern. "I'm fine, Dani. It's alright."

Her legs started shaking as she walked over to sit next to me on the bed. We both stayed silent, trying to think of something to say to each other. Dani was the first to start talking.

"Connor…I wanted to talk to you about…what happened between us over the past twenty-four hours. I mean, I always feel like there's some kind of tension whenever we talk to each other." She looked down at her lap, avoiding eye contact with me.

I slowly reached over and placed my fingers under her chin for our eyes to meet. "Danielle, I don't really get what you're tryin' to say." My other hand gently took hold of hers, my fingers wrapping around it.

"I…I just don't understand why you're so hell-bent on protecting me. You've only known me for what, three days. Since then, we've already kissed and almost had a foreplay session in that fucking alleyway. Then, you get pissed whenever I don't listen to you, like you have some kind of authority over me, when you don't!"

She was practically yelling now, tears beginning to form in her eyes. I stayed quiet, waiting for her to finish her angry rant. She stood up off the bed and in front of me, releasing her hand from mine.

"Connor…I just don't understand what I am to you. Is it because you feel guilty for finding me that night in the alley? Are you just having me around so you can fuck me when you get the chance?"

"Danielle, just calm down, darlin'." I tried to soothe her. Before I saw it coming, she raised her hand and slapped me across the cheek, her green eyes glowing with anger. The shock of her hitting me flared up as I stared at her in disbelief. She stood her ground in front of me, the tears flowing down her face. I stood up from the bed and gently placed my hands on her shoulders.

Her breath came out in short gasps, her whole frame shaking with vulnerability. It truly broke my heart to see her breaking down like this.

"Why, Connor? Why is it so important for you to protect some girl that you've only known for a few days?" She nearly screamed at me.

The fury boiled inside me as I stared at her in silence. Right before she could finish her sentence, I yelled out to her. "It's because I love ya, Danielle!"

She stopped in front of me, the tears still flowing down her face. "Wh…what did you just say?" Her voice was shaky, nervous.

"Ya heard me." I told her, standing straight up, tightening my grip on her shoulders. Now, I was pissed.

"No…you don't mean that." She tried to turn away, but I held her fast.

"Danielle Smecker, there will never be any closed doors between us." I growled as I bent down in front of her, scooping her up into my arms with ease. She let out a gasp as I dropped her onto the bed. Dani only stared at me in stunned silence as I turned and headed back to the door. I didn't look back at her as I left the room, slamming the door behind me. The sound of her faint crying left my ears as I walked down the hallway.

Stomping back to the living room, I saw Murphy stretched out across the sofa, his feet propped up on one of the arm-rests.

"What was goin' on in there? You two havin' a spat?" He asked as I kicked off my boots.

"No, Murph. All ye need to know is that I'm pissed, I did somethin' really stupid and I feel like gettin' shitfaced drunk tonight." Murphy slowly smiled at me as I went to the fridge in the kitchen and pulled out a case of beer.

"All right! Let's do what angry Irishmen do, me dear brother!" Murph nearly yelled out in excitement as I took a bottle of beer and gulped it down with the anger of an Irishman being rejected by the woman who had become more to him that he ever expected.

There is never enough alcohol to help a man cope with what he may interpret as rejection from the woman he loves. But, there is enough determination in the man to make him want to give her everything she needs to be happy...


	12. Chapter 12

Dani's POV:

I slept horribly that night, tortured by guilty thoughts about taking out my anger on Connor. To be truthful, I felt awful that I actually slapped him in the face. He didn't deserve to be hurt, especially after all he and Murphy had done for me.

As I continued to toss and turn on my bed, I eventually sank into a mysterious dream, one that actually seemed to bring me great advice on my situation…

I was in my bedroom at Uncle Paul's house, the full moon shining though my window. Clothed in a white nightgown, I kneeled on the carpeted floor, my head bowed in prayer.

"Lord, please. I am aware that I do not speak with you as often as I should, but I really need your help. Two amazing men have come into my life and they're smart, funny and definitely attractive, but there is something about Connor MacManus that I do not understand. Ever since we met, he has become like my personal bodyguard, yet the way we interact with each other…it's like he sees me as more than just a young girl he rescued from danger. I really do not understand, my dear Lord. Did Connor really mean it when he said that he loved me?"

The deep voice of God boomed throughout the bedroom, causing goose-bumps to form all over me. "Do not fret, my child. This man you speak of is just as confused as you are. I gave him the task of protecting you from the day he and his brother first found you. Ever since you were born, I knew you were destined to do extraordinary things, my dear Daughter. From the second you took your first breath of air as a baby, I knew you were stronger than you looked on the outside."

I could only listen in silence as I absorbed what He had to say.

"It would not have been right to selfishly take you to Heaven before you were able to experience the world. As for this man of yours, he feels the need to keep you safe; it is because he sees that vulnerable child from that night he saved your life. I sent both of them to save you from dying, my dear. As flawed as they may be, I have chosen them to vanquish all evil. As for you, dear Danielle, you are to keep them on the straight and narrow. Do not let them succumb to the adrenaline that violence creates in the hearts of men. Be their angel and protect them from corruption…"

I shot up in bed, gasping for breath as if I had emerged from under water. The faint light of morning crept through the bedroom window. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I slowly got out of bed, listening for the guys' voices. I heard the sound of laughing and glasses clinking together.

What on earth was going on out there?

Dressing in a hurry, I slipped on another pair of jeans from my bag and a white shirt that clung to my body. I walked down the hallway while adjusting my hair into a ponytail. The boys' laughter became louder as I neared the kitchen. As I came closer, I saw Connor, Murphy, and Rocco gathered around the dining table, sharing numerous bottles of Budweiser beer. I shook head angrily in disbelief. They were drinking in the early morning on the day we were going to kill Rocco's serial killer acquaintance he complained about last night.

I leaned against the entryway wall to the kitchen, waiting for one of the men to acknowledge my presence.

"Hey, Dani." Murphy greeted me cheerfully, his eyes glazed over from the alcohol. Rocco smoked his cigarette and waved at me, leaning back in his chair.

"Hey, Murphy." I said to him, concealing the anger in my voice with ease. Looking around, I saw many beer bottles lying on the floor around the table and the entryway where I was standing.

Connor's back was to me, his feet propped up on the table. He turned his head around in my direction when Murphy said good morning to me. He lost his balance and ended up falling backwards in his chair, landing on the hard tile floor. It didn't seem to faze him at all as he and the other men laughed, obviously intoxicated.

"How are you doing, Connor?" I asked him, crossing my arms over my chest, raising my eyebrows.

He reached over and retrieved the bottle he dropped when he fell over. His eyes seemed dazed as he looked at me, trying to think of an answer to my question. "I'm doin' okay, Dani. How are ya doin', yourself?" His chair lay askew underneath him, his back leaning against the cushioned seat.

"I surmise you've never been to bed." I responded pointedly, feeling smug that I caught them drinking excessively without my knowledge.

"Surmise…" Connor muttered to himself as he stared at a spot on the wall.

"We're gonna go kill that bastard Rocco told us about last night this afternoon. You guys remember that?" I asked all of them, glancing at all of their baffled, drunken faces.

Murphy whistled out a defeated tune as Rocco scoffed at me. "We were just discussin' that." The bearded man fibbed as he extinguished his cigarette in his ashtray.

"Come on, Dani. Sit down, its slick here." Murphy slurred, lighting up his own cigarette.

"Not today, Murph." I shook my head at my friend, refusing to participate in binge drinking.

"Why not?" He spread out his arms at my answer, his shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"Because you're fucking hammered." I retorted back as if it weren't already obvious that all these men were plastered from too much beer.

He laughed raucously, clinking his bottle together with Rocco's as Connor held back his own comical sentiments.

"Come on, Dani. Just came have a fuckin' beer with us." Connor frowned and waved his arm toward me, beckoning me to come join him.

"I'm going to get my stuff together to go. I'm not here to babysit you guys like you're a bunch of pissant little kids."

"You're not?" Connor finished his beer, gulping down the rest of it with gusto. He tossed the empty bottle over to the side. I heard the glass shatter into pieces on the kitchen floor. Holding back my new wave of anger, I glared back at the Irishman who now held my heart in his strong hands.

"Is this how you cope with your feelings, Connor? After you tell me that you love me, you storm in here and waste the problem away with beer?"

Murphy and Rocco held back their laughter as Connor stared at me with unblinking blue eyes. "What if I didn't mean it?" He challenged, his accent slurred by the alcohol.

"There's too many 'ifs' in that sentence." I said, turning around to walk back to the bedroom.

"Only one, actually. There's only one 'if' in that sentence, Danielle!" He nearly shouted as I walked further away from them, trying to ignore their laughter. "I thought it was a good fuckin' point. There is only one." I heard him tell Murphy and Rocco as I abruptly turned and stomped back to the kitchen.

"Really?" I asked in a hard voice. The men froze as I bent down and grabbed an empty beer bottle off the living room carpet. Fear replaced the dazed looks in their eyes as they scrambled out of their seats.

"Oh, shit! Look out!" Murphy shouted as I threw the bottle at the table. It smashed against the wall, breaking into small glass pieces. I bent down to grab another one, aiming at where Connor fell from his chair. It was useless as the bottle landed on the kitchen floor, shattering into numerous glass shards.

Adrenaline rushing through my veins, I took long, deep breaths as my lungs ached from the anger. "How dare you fucking talk to me like that?" I pointed to all three men as they stared at me incredulously.

"We surrender, we surrender!" Connor held up his arms as he stepped closer to me, his eyes seeming to clear up from the influence of unnecessary alcohol.

"What the hell was I thinking? I must have been crazy! I'm not going to allow God's mission for us to be ruined by you drowning your sorrows in drinking. You all oughta be ashamed of yourselves." I finished my rant quietly as I took a painful breath of air. I glared straight at Connor, his blue eyes staring sadly at me. "And I am coming with you on this mission, whether you want me to or not. You are not my father or my husband, so you have no right to tell me what I can or cannot do." I stood merely a foot away from him, the handsome man towering over my petite body like a human shield.

His eyes were hard and angry as he considered my words. He inhaled and took a long, exasperated breath as I waited for his response. "Okay, Danielle. I'm not gonna fight with ya on this. But, I'm still gonna keep ya from getting hurt." He smirked confidently at me.

"Fine, but you can't watch me and kill the bad guys at the same time. Maybe it will be God's challenge for you, Connor MacManus." I stepped closer until I was mere inches from his face. Despite the aroma of booze on his body, I felt myself being pulled toward him. His lips were barely an inch from mine as I gazed into his vivid blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, me love…" He paused as he bent down and lifted me up from the floor, my feet hanging inches from the cold kitchen tiles. "But, seducin' me isn't gonna keep me from protectin' ya. It's what God ordered me to do for Him." I rested my hands on his broad shoulders, staring at the black Virgin Mary tattoo on his neck.

"We'll just see what He has planned for us today. I've already scared you guys once just now, so there's no telling what evil plan I'll have cooked up for later." I smiled evilly at him as he laughed, slowly spinning me around the kitchen.

Murphy and Rocco shook their heads in silent confusion. "Jesus, is she bi-polar, or what?" Rocco questioned rudely, earning a glare from Connor. I put my hand on his cheek, turning his head around for him to look at me.

"Shh, my Saint. Names will never hurt me." I soothed him as he tightened his arms around me protectively, gently pressing his lips to mine. He tasted so good that I momentarily forgot about the events of the past five minutes. My senses were vaguely clouded by the masculine scent of tobacco and alcohol.

I kissed him back, just wanting to forget the trauma of the past few days and just stay in the arms of my own personal hero. But, I knew that we had an agenda to do, so I knew that it was only a matter of time before our relationship would be put to the ultimate test.

Was Connor really in love with me? Did I reciprocate his feelings? As I felt his gentle lips on mine, the tickle of the scruff along his jawline on my face, I knew the answer was clear to me…

Yes… I, Danielle Kristina Smecker, was in love with Connor MacManus.


	13. Chapter 13

Connor's POV:

All four of us, Dani included, exited out the front door of the house of Rocco's serial killer acquaintance. We had been quite successful in giving him his due. Danielle walked in between Murphy and I, with Rocco following close behind us.

The only problem was that when we made it outside to the front porch, we had no idea what we were in for…

We stood there, staring at the street in front of us, confused. Just across the way, there stood a man in a long, black coat with dark sunglasses, his face hidden by a gray beard. My stomach did a somersault as I placed my hand onto Danielle's shoulder, pulling her away to get behind me. Right as I moved her, the stranger opened his trench coat to reveal six guns attached to the vest on his chest. He pulled two of them out, pointing toward us.

Danielle gasped in panic as my brother and I each pulled out one gun into our hands, forming a protective curtain to shield the girl behind us. Time seemed to freeze as the moment of Armageddon exploded into a fucking ambush of rapid gunfire.

Rocco burst in between me and Murphy, aiming out his own gun toward the bastard, but it was too late for our friend as the bullets flew everywhere around us. He went down quickly as he clutched at his now wounded hand, leaping into the patch of bushes in the porch garden.

The strange old man continued to shoot at us without stopping, like a goddamn Terminator. I reached behind me with my free hand to push Danielle toward Murphy. My brother grabbed her around the waist and dived into the other side of the bush garden by the porch, hiding her from our assailant's sight.

I heard her scream, but it was drowned out by the gunshots that kept me focused on protecting her. Murphy and Rocco yelled out various curses at the old assassin who dared to attack us, still shooting their own weapons in defense. It appeared that none of our bullets were actually hitting him.

Right as he aimed one of his guns square at my chest, a blur of white and brown shot out in front of me, as if to keep me from getting hit. Danielle stood in front of my body, the top of her head matted with tangled strands of brunette hair. She held out her own six-shooter toward the bastard, shooting out a bullet that managed to get him in the shoulder. Before I could react, the old codger fired a shot at her, and the blood began to flow down her leg as I caught her around the waist to hold her up.

Rage consumed me as I fired all the fucking bullets I had at the asshole that wounded her, who had done what I had been trying so hard to prevent.

He seemed to be out of guns as he mysteriously turned away from us and disappeared right before my eyes. I couldn't focus on that, though, as Dani moaned in pain, scarlet blood creating a tiny river trail down her lower leg, soaking her jeans.

I wrapped my arms tighter around her, allowing the injured girl to bury her face into my shirt. Frantically, I looked toward the patch of bushes to look for Murphy and Rocco.

"Murph, are ya alright?" I asked worriedly, anger lacing my tone.

Rocco burst through his side of the bushes, his hand wrapped in a piece of cloth torn from his shirt. "He shot my fucking finger off!"

I felt Dani begin to slump against me as I looked back to my brother, who had also emerged from his hiding place, blood covering his forearm. "Murph, get Dani to the van! We need to get the blood now! Get the fuckin' bag, Roc!" I shouted out instructions to them in haste.

We managed to spray all the splattered blood on the porch with bottles of ammonia so the police wouldn't be able to tell whose it was. Murphy carried Danielle to the van as Rocco and I quickly followed. We had to get back to the house fast so we could heal our wounds before they got infected. I wasn't even sure poor Danielle knew what would be part of the treatment.

The wound on her leg would have to be cauterized…

As we sped back to the house, I held Danielle in my lap, sitting in the passenger seat as Murphy drove. I thought about the fight Dani and I had last night, when I saw her perfect body in nothing but that white towel… Lord knows what kind of sinful thoughts were in my mind when she opened that bedroom door.

I couldn't help but the stare at the dreadful wound on her leg, clad in the fabric of blue jeans, but flawlessly shaped underneath. Her petite, fragile body was proportioned with perfection, with her long chocolate-colored hair and eyes as green as the gorgeous hills of my beloved Ireland.

My lips pressed onto the top of her head as we finally pulled into the driveway of Rocco's mother. I carried a half-conscious Dani into the house, with Rocco rushing to the kitchen sink to wash his seriously wounded hand. As I laid Danielle onto the kitchen table, my angry questions toward my friend bust out.

"Who the fuck was he, Rocco? I know you fuckin' know, so don't even start!" I yelled as I plugged the iron in to warm it up. This was not going to pleasant…

"Fuck you! I told you I never saw him before!" Rocco argued back at me, holding his hand under the faucet to soak it with water.

"Well, he sure as fuck knew you!" Murphy shouted, smacking Rocco in the back of the head.

"Fuck you! Fuck you both! Look at us, we're all four fucking amateurs here!" He held up both of his bloodied hands as I looked toward the table at Danielle. She seemed to be shaking all over, wrapping her arms around herself.

I tried to ignore Rocco's ranting as I grabbed the iron off the stove, keeping my eyes on the wounded girl. She stared at the smoking hot iron for a long moment before the realization came to her. Dani began to shake her head in frightened refusal, but this had to be done.

"We have to do it, Danielle, or else your leg will get infected. The iron only has to be on the wound for ten seconds." My voice cracked with guilt.

"Connor, why don't I do it? You just hold her so she won't struggle." Murphy stared at our scared lady companion with sad eyes. I could tell this was hurting him, having to cause our female friend any pain, even if it was to help her wound heal itself.

I heard her take a gulp of air, stretching out her legs across the table. Murphy bent down to roll up the leg of her pants, revealing her bloody injury. "Let's get this over-with, then. Connor, will you please come over here?"

Handing the iron to Murphy, I raced to her side and enfolded my arms around her upper body, pulling her against my chest. My brother placed his hand on her leg to hold it down. "Only ten seconds, Dani, I promise." He assured her with conviction.

She only nodded at him and turned her head away to bury her face into my shirt, screaming in pain as the iron burned her delicate skin. My arms tightened around her, my chin resting on the top of her head. I could faintly smell the shampoo in her hair from her shower last night. They were about the ten longest seconds of my fucking life as the girl continued to cry out in agony.

"Oh, God! Please stop! PLEASE!" Danielle was enduring the torture of amatuer cauterization all because she had gotten in the way of that bullet for me. My heart was set aflame with guilt and anger for not doing anything to prevent her from being harmed any further.

This wasn't right. The scorching metal of that damned iron should have been burning me, not her. It should have been me on that table…

Finally, it was over as Murphy removed the blood-stained iron from my angel's flesh. Sobs began to rack her little body as she stood onto her knees on the table surface in front of me. Her eyes were rimmed with red as she placed her hands onto my shoulders.

"Connor…I am so sorry…for everything." Danielle's tears began to flow down her pink cheeks as I kissed her forehead.

"It's all okay, me love. None of this is your fault. Come on, I'll carry ya to the bedroom." She didn't even protest as I gently lifted her up into my arms, tenderly holding her against me.

Murphy gave her chin a little tickle, making her crack a tiny smile. He blew her a quick kiss as I turned away and walked to the bedroom. Her eyes were closed as her head rested on my shoulder. She probably fainted from the shock of getting shot.

I carried her into the bedroom and slowly set her onto the bed, taking the tennis shoes off her small feet. Her eyes fluttered open again as her head hit the pillow. "I think I need to get out of these jeans so I don't stain the bed with blood. Do…do you think you could help me, Connor?" Dani's voice was meek with slight embarrassment, but I heard a hint of bravery in her tone.

It took me a second to realize that she wanted me to help undress her because of her wound. She trusted me with revealing her beautiful body to a man. My voice was lost as I stared at her face in the dark bedroom. Perhaps this was God's way of challenging my attraction to her.

No, it was more than just a mere attraction. It was love I felt for her. And I was determined to not allow lust to conquer love…

"Yes, I'll help ya with anything you ask o' me, Danielle. Ya should never be scared to ask me anything." Slowly, I bent down in front of her as she stood up onto the floor, holding her foot up off the carpet. My fingers carefully undid the snap of her jeans, unbuttoning them. She placed her hands on my shoulders to balance herself as she pulled her legs out of her blood-stained pants. I carefully avoided looking at the lacy pair of panties she was wearing and helped her pull her bloody white shirt up over her head.

There she stood before me, the curves of her body gracing my sight, clothed in only a bra and underwear. Why was the Holy Spirit trying to tempt me…?

I decided that I should at least lend her my shirt for now, until she recovered from today's traumatic event. My heart couldn't help but burst with pride at the vision of her in my gray t-shirt, the hem coming down to just barely cover her underwear. The shirt looked like a little dress as it clothed her frame. I smiled at her as I pulled back the comforter to let her climb into bed. She rested against the pillow, breathing out a peaceful sigh as I pulled the blankets over her.

After brushing a stray piece of hair out of her face, I turned away to leave and let her get some sleep. Before I could get far enough from the bed, I felt her hand gently grasp onto my tattooed forearm.

"Connor…please don't leave. I'm too scared to be alone right now." My heart broke at the sound of her voice, filled with fear, vulnerability.

"Don't be afraid, my darling. I'm here to keep you safe." I murmured to her in French. Taking the boots off my feet, I climbed beside her onto the bed above the covers. My arms enfolded around her as she laid her head onto my chest, resting just above where my heart was beating.

Her breathing slowed down into a calmer pattern as I stared at her. Resting my head onto the pillow, I slowly traced my index finger along her cheek, stroking her ivory skin with as much tenderness as I could without waking her... my thumb gently tracing along her slightly chapped bottom lip. I remembered the sensation of our first kiss, how wildly charged, yet sensual it was...

And considering the position I was currently in, lying beside the brunette woman just shy of two decades old and watching over her as she slept, it felt completely different than when I had encountered other women in the past. We would have a meaningless one-night stand in a drunken romp inside some shady motel room and I would leave before the anonymous woman would even wake up the following morning.

But with Danielle, she was making me see her willingness to stand up for her rights and challenging me as my attraction for her became stronger by each argument we had. It was stupid, blurting out the fact that I was in love with her. When I saw her defile Lappazzi's dignity, to put it lightly, I had realized that she was far more than what she seemed to be. Dani was smart but cautious, strong but human, caring but not a pushover, and beautiful but in a natural way just how God imagined her to be when He chose to place her into this world and right into my life...and I was far below what she deserved in a man.

However, I was a man in love with her and I had no power to keep it from happening.

"God has truly blessed me and Murphy with your presence, my angel. You saved my life today and I only want you to have everything a woman like you deserves. I will do whatever I can to repay you, sweet Danielle Kristina. My precious lady…my love." My own words whispered to her in French reminded me of one lesson my mother had taught me and Murphy as young boys, the story of the Holy Virgin and her fateful meeting with the Angel Gabriel, how she didn't need to fear when he first appeared to her, that he only sought out to help in her journey to fulfill God's plan for her.

In my scenario now, Danielle was the treasured Mary, and I was Gabriel, sent to guide her and only admire her from afar and keep her from the clutches of Satan's evil.


	14. Chapter 14

Dani's POV:

"I'm confident that the investigation will land in the apprehension of the suspects." I heard my uncle Paul announce on the tiny kitchen television on the counter. Rocco aimed the remote control toward the screen and clicked it off.

"Fuckin' hell." Connor murmured as I snuggled closer into his lap. I was still wearing his shirt, since my other clothes were blood-stained. We all sat around the bar, watching the news tell of our most recent mission in the suburban neighborhood where we had been ambushed. My lower leg was wrapped securely in a bandage thanks to Murphy, who sat next to Connor and me, smoking a cigarette.

Rocco turned to Connor as the Irishman cursed out his worry. "What, that guy?" He asked, referring to my FBI agent guardian.

"It's the guy that got us off the hook with the Checkov thing." Murphy answered, blowing some smoke out of his nostrils.

"And he's one smart man." Connor added, rubbing my arm with his warm hand as I lay my head on his shoulder.

"They got nothing." Rocco nearly snorted, briefly flickering his skeptical gaze to me.

"My uncle's very sharp. If he hasn't figured us out yet, he will." I felt Connor enfold his arms around me, pulling my tired body against his chest.

"Ya bet your ass, he will." Murphy emphasized, reaching over to his ashtray to put out the cigarette.

"Well, I say that makes him a lia-fucking-bility." The rude Italian concluded, shifting his eyes to mine, as if waiting to see how I would react to his suggestion to kill my only remaining father figure.

"He isn't to be touched." Connor said immediately, reading my mind.

"He's a good man." Murphy agreed, reaching out to take my hand, tickling my wrist with his fingertips. We briefly smiled at one another as Rocco shrugged at us.

"Okay, whatever." He groaned, taking a swig of liquor straight from the bottle. His wounded hand now remained without its pinky finger, wrapped in crude bandages.

.

.

.

As dusk approached, I went to the bedroom to change back into my nightgown. Even though I slept for a good few hours earlier that afternoon with Connor at my side, I still felt exhausted. I slipped the silken garment on, gazing at my reflection in the mirror.

My skin had finally seemed to heal from all the bruises from my rape. Despite my satisfaction, I could not help but stare at the bandage covering my lower calf. An overwhelming shiver flowed through my body at the memory of the iron pressed against my skin, burning my flesh, yet sealing my wound closed.

I ran my fingers through my long hair, straightening out the tangles. A cold sweat beaded at my forehead as I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to keep warm.

Then, a sudden knock at the door nearly made me jump a foot off the carpet. "W- who is it?" I asked, getting a hold of myself.

"It's Murphy. Can I come in, Dani?" His voice softly requested from the hallway.

I slowly walked to the door, trying not to put too much weight on my leg. Opening the door, I saw Murphy standing before me. He smiled at me as I opened the door wider to let him inside.

"Hi, Murphy. What's going on?" I asked him, sitting down onto the bed.

"Nothin'. I was kinda hopin' you and I could have a lil' talk, if that's okay with you." He shuffled his feet against the floor.

"Sure, that's fine." I patted the spot next to me on the bed for him to sit down. Connor's twin sat on the edge of the bed beside me, wringing his hands together. It always seemed that Murphy was constantly restless…

"Look, Dani. I know Connor better than anybody else on this whole fuckin' planet. We've been with each other since before we were even born." His blue eyes lit up as I smiled at his half-joke. He gently placed his arm around my shoulders, making the shivers attacking me disappear. "What I really wanna say to ya… is that I've been seein' the way me brother's been lookin' at ya. From the first night we found ya, I'd never seen him so livid or heartbroken than when he laid ya down in our apartment."

I felt tears come to my eyes as I turned to stare at the bedroom wall. "What are you trying to say, Murphy?"

"I'm tryin' to say that Connor's in love with ya. Like I said, I know him like the back of me fuckin' hand. That night in Rocco's apartment, after he put ya in bed, he talked to us about how strong and beautiful he thought ya were. He just had this look in his eyes and tone to his voice like…I can't even begin to tell ya. All I know is that I have never seen him look at other women the ways he looks at you, Dani."

He rubbed his hand down my back as I turned to look at the man who had become a big brother to me. His other hand reached up to wipe the tear that escaped down my cheek.

"It's all okay, lass. Ya didn't do anythin' wrong." His finger gently wiped away the tear.

"I…I know that, Murph. I've just hurt him a lot and kept pissing him off so much, I'm not surprised he hasn't just tied me to the bed and set the house on fire." Murphy frowned at my dark joke, but gave me a gentle squeeze with his strong arm.

"Trust me, Danielle. Me brother would sooner die than cause ya any harm." He leaned over and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm gonna get me some shut-eye, lil' sis. Good night." Murphy stood up, playfully ruffling my hair.

I looked ahead of me to see Connor leaning against the doorway. "What are you two flirtin' about?" His blue eyes locked on my face as he smirked at me and his loveable brother.

"Nothin', Conn. I was just givin' yer girl some comfort. That's what big brothers are for." Murphy patted Connor's shoulder as he turned to leave the room.

A strange sensation overtook me as I looked at Connor. As he closed the door behind Murphy, I could see that he was wearing a white wife-beater, revealing more of the cross tattoo on his forearm…the strong arms that I had been cradled in numerous times.

I had never felt safer than when Connor was holding me…

As Connor turned back to me, I stood up off the bed, feeling bold. He stared in confusion as I nearly marched toward him, wondering what I was about to do.

"Dani, what are ya…" I didn't allow him to finish as I took his face in between my hands and pressed my lips to his. Almost immediately, his hands reached up to caress my cheeks. I enfolded my arms around his neck as I felt the stubble lining along his jaw tenderly prickle my face in such a way that it tickled my skin.

His hands moved down to hold my waist as I finally had the drive to release his lips from mine. "I just wanted to say that…I love you, too, Connor MacManus." I whispered only for him to hear. Taking his tattooed hand into mine, I held it to my lips and kissed each letter of the word Veritas inked along his index finger and knuckle.

He didn't say anything as I looked back up at Connor, waiting for him to respond. His lips pulled up into a wide smile of disbelief, releasing a small laugh of delight. Those fiery blue eyes of his shone with a luminous light of happiness.

The Irishman before me took both of my tiny hands in his, lowering himself down onto his knees in front of me. "Mon bel ange. Je t'adore. Je t'aime a la folie." He lifted my hands to his lips and kissed both of them, his mouth caressing my knuckles and fingertips. "Chaque jour je vous aime plus. Aujourd'hui plus qu'hier et moins que demain." He purred against my palm.

Connor slowly stood back up, letting go of my hands. Almost like I expected it, he released a playful growl as he bent down and lifted me up into his strong arms. I let out a delightful squeal as my protector carried me to the bed and gently laid me on top of the covers.

"You know, Connor, I didn't exactly take French class in high school. What did you say?" I asked him as I pulled the covers over me.

He chuckled as he moved to the other side of the bed to lie down beside me. "Basically, I said that you are my beautiful angel and that I absolutely adore ya. Not only that, but I'm madly in love with ya. Me strong bonnie lass." Connor pulled me into his arms, leaning his head against the pillows. He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Each day, I love ya more. Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow."

His words filled me with an intense feeling of joy as I leaned up and kissed the Virgin Mary tattoo on his neck. I could feel the vibration of his satisfied groan as I pulled back. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go too far, Connor."

"No, its okay. Ya know I'd never do anything to make ya uncomfortable." His voice was now full of fierce conviction as his eyes began to flame up.

Quickly, I tried to change the subject. "You know, Mary was my favorite character in the Bible." I looked pointedly at the image of her imprinted on his throat.

"Why is that, darlin'?" Connor asked, curious.

"Because she was a real strong woman despite what other people around her said. An Angel came to her and gave her a message saying that she would be carrying the Lord's child in her womb, even though she was still a virgin. She was able to rise above the controversy and gossip of Nazareth and traveled with Joseph to Bethlehem so she could give birth to our Savior. And to think, she wasn't much older than me when she was pregnant with Jesus. She truly was one of the most remarkable women who has ever graced the earth."

"Aye, I agree with ya, Dani. However, I believe that I'm lyin' beside another one of those remarkable women." He bent down and kissed my bare shoulder, burying his face into my long hair.

"Hmm, my gorgeous Saint, will you sleep beside your Angel tonight?" I whispered in the silent darkness. My head rested on Connor's chest, allowing me to hear his heartbeat and low rumble of his breathing.

"Oui, mon amour. I'll always be here to watch over you." His arms wrapped tighter around me as I sighed in contentment. I felt his lips press onto the top of my head as my mind became fogged over by sleep and I drifted into a calm oblivion with my Irish paramour at my side.


	15. Chapter 15

Dani's POV:

The next morning, Connor, Murphy and I sat in one of the very back pews inside the church of the Holy Saints.

We had sent Rocco out earlier to park the car he had driven us in. During the ride to the cathedral, he had made some uncouth complaints as Connor and I kissed in the backseat, half-joking that we weren't allowed to make love in his car. Initially, I had flipped him off in response, resulting in Murphy's appraisal of my spunkiness and Connor kissing me even more passionately, whispering "I love you" in German.

Both of the boys had their heads bowed in prayer, with me sitting in between them. Their eyes were closed and they were softly muttering in what I could guess was Latin.

Instead of bowing my head, I silently gazed around at the beautiful scenery of the interior. There was nobody else around except for a priest, dressed in a black robe and a purple scarf. He was lighting some candles on the front table near the humongous statue of Jesus Christ nailed on the cross.

As I watched him continue to ignite the candles, the back door to the room opened. Connor and Murphy kept their heads bowed as I stared at the man who had entered the room. He wore a gray suit and was holding a dark jacket. I could see him stumble toward the confession chamber, hung over from a stress-filled assignment.

My heart dropped into my stomach as I saw my Uncle Paul stagger inside the chamber, letting the wooden door shut behind him.

As I tried to keep the internal panic from overwhelming me, I saw Rocco come inside the same door. Had he been following my uncle to make sure he didn't find us out?

Of course he did…the nerve of the jerk…

To my horror, Rocco spotted the priest coming toward the confessional as well. The Italian smiled at him before grabbing him by the back of his collar and forcing him inside the other side of the chamber, right next to where my uncle was.

I knew I had to take action before everything went to hell. Standing up, I slid past Connor to the edge of the pew. Before I could get far enough away, I felt the Irishman take a hold of my hand.

"Where are ya goin', Dani?" He whispered, raising his head from his praying.

"I don't want to alarm you, but I just saw my uncle go inside the confessional booth. Then, Rocco came in and forced that priest inside, too. I need to make sure your friend doesn't get anyone hurt." I explained to him hastily.

"Okay, love." He answered, his tone filled with uncertain caution. "I trust ya on this, but be careful. And Murph and I will be listenin' fer trouble, so don't worry." He squeezed my hand in reassurance before releasing it to let me go do what I needed to do.

Anger boiled up inside me as I opened the door to the third section of the confessional booth. Entering inside as quietly as I could, I saw through the thin screen a sight that made me want to just kick the living crap out of David Della Rocco. He was holding a gun to the priest's head and whispering threats to him as the man stood with his face to the window of the section where my uncle was probably passed out drunk.

Using my fingers to poke holes through the wire screen, I thrust my hand forward, creating a hole big enough for my arm to fit into. I reached out and grabbed Rocco's hair, pulling his head through the screen-hole I made. Pulling my trusty six-shooter out of my pocket, I held it to his temple, tightening my hold on his hair.

"You bastard! Let him go, or I will drop you right fucking now!" I snarled at him.

"Okay, okay. Just calm down." Rocco whispered in a pleading voice. In response, I cocked the gun back, signaling that I was serious. "Your uncle could ruin us, Dani. He could ruin the whole thing."

"Rocco, you better let that priest go, or I will deliver you right here!" I was not in the mood to deal with his bullshit reasons for threatening an innocent person to protect himself. "I have put up with your inappropriate comments toward me, but this kind of shit I am not gonna tolerate."

"No, you crazy bitch. You won't do it. Connor and Murphy love me, man." He retorted as I pulled harder at his hair.

"I swear to God…" I began to hiss through my teeth, until I heard a drunken slur from the other side of the confessional.

"Hello? You there?" I heard Uncle Paul groan out from his section of the booth.

"Y-yes, my son." The priest answered, keeping a calm tone of voice despite the position he was in.

"Do your thing, Father. Don't fuck this up!" Rocco whispered fiercely to him as I tightened my grip on the insane Italian.

"How long since your last confession?" The priest asked my uncle, keeping up his façade of being the only one in the booth.

"Christ, I've never confessed." Uncle Paul sighed in response. "I've come here for advice, not slalvation."

I rolled my eyes at the mispronunciation of the word. Leave it to my eccentric uncle to be drunk in a church, with a Holy man present.

"Why have you come to a church for council if you're not religious?" The priest asked, his Boston accent surfacing at the end of his question.

"It's ethics. I put evil men behind bars. But, the law has miles of red tape and loopholes for these cocksuckers to slip through. I-I've found out that there are these two guys…and my own niece who've been fixing the situation with an iron fist, as if they had God's permission."

"God's permission? God doesn't grant…" The priest started to say, until Rocco shook the back of his collar in warning.

"In this day and age…I believe what they do is necessary. I…I feel it is correct." My uncle poured out all his thoughts at once, making my head spin for a brief moment.

"The soul is what gives us feelings. It's like a conduit from which the Lord speaks to us. You felt your answers would be here in the house of the Lord today. And you feel that these men and young woman are necessary. So, the Lord has spoken to you twice today."

"Has he, now?" I heard Uncle Paul smirk in response to the priest's lecture.

"You are the one who came to this church speaking about beliefs and feelings. Is it so hard to believe that God has brought you here?" The cleric asked.

"I guess not." I heard my uncle answer in a low murmur.

"It's very easy to be sarcastic about religion. But, it's much more difficult to take a stand." He advised to my guardian.

"I wanna stand for what I believe in, Father." Paul declared to the priest.

"First, you have to know what your beliefs are." The Holy man stated.

"I believe that Dani and these young men are right." Surprise flowed through me as I kept my tight grip on Rocco.

"Do you know the men personally?" The priest asked.

"Yes." Uncle Paul answered him straight.

"Would they or your niece ever harm an innocent person for any reason?" I saw the priest's head turn about an inch toward Rocco.

"No, they would never do that. Well, Dani and the two Irish guys wouldn't. The Italian guy, he might. He's kind of an idiot." I pressed my gun harder to Rocco's head, making sure he didn't hurt the priest in response to my uncle's statement. "I'm beginning to see. All the things I wish I could do, these guys are doing. What should I do? Because…I am a man who's supposed to uphold the law."

"The laws of God are higher than the laws of Man." The priest concluded, bowing his head in brief prayer.

"Yes, yes! I was thinking that. No, no. I was feeling it. All I needed was to hear you say it." Uncle Paul whispered in triumph. "Amen. I will help them."

"Forgive me, Father." The priest raised up his head to the confessional ceiling.

"Thank you, Father…whatever. Amen, goodbye." I heard the booth door open on the other side as I pushed the safety back on my gun, pushing Rocco's dumb head back through the screen window.

Bursting through my own door, I nearly ran to catch up with my uncle as he exited out the side door of the cathedral building…

"Dani, what happened?" I heard Connor ask me, making me stop in my tracks as Uncle Paul closed the door behind him. I turned around to face the man I loved.

"Paul said that he supports what we do, and that's he's gonna help us out. I need to catch up with him so I can tell him of our plans." I nearly panted, out of breath from the stress.

Connor nodded in understanding. "Okay, darlin'. Go on before ya lose him. You stay with 'im tonight 'til we get back from Pappa Joe's. We're gonna get 'im in the comfort of his own home. I'm sorry, love, but I can't risk ya gettin' hurt this time. I can't stand to think what those bastards would do to ya if they saw ya with us." He stared down at my nearly healed leg as I felt a disappointed tear come to my eye. I quickly wiped it away before he could see. "You should go, me love. I'll see ya later tonight." He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine gently. As I pulled away, I reached up and traced my fingers along his cheek. "I love ye, Danielle." Connor purred my name as I gave him one last quick kiss on the lips…

.

.

.

"That's all you can give me?" Uncle Paul asked me as we stood along the Boston city sidewalk.

"Yeah, the light hit the right side of his face. He had a gray beard. Maybe late fifties, early sixties." I answered as he questioned me about the mystery assassin from the suburban neighborhood.

"So, you're telling me it was one guy with six guns, and he was a senior freaking citizen?" He kept on questioning me in disbelief.

"Yeah, but it's better if the boys and I find this man before he finds us again." I wrapped my jacket around my shoulders.

"I'll see what I can do. How do I get in touch with the boys?"

"They're gonna head to Yakavetta's house tonight. Afterwards, we might move on to another city. New York, maybe. I'm not sure." I answered as honestly as I could.

"Let's hope they'll be careful. Why aren't you going with them this time?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Connor thinks it'll be too dangerous for me. And…he promised me he'd be back later tonight." I couldn't stop the worried pause in my sentence as Paul laid a hand on my shoulder.

"He's in love with you, isn't he?" I could tell he knew by the tone of his voice. He didn't need to ask.

"Yes, he is. And I love him. Connor and Murphy have both been good to me…but I can't just stand around and worry. We have to help out somehow. If something happens to them…to Connor…" I trailed off as my uncle took hold of me by the shoulders.

"Dani, Dani…It'll be okay. We'll figure something out." I nodded in agreement, pushing away the thought of my beloved Irishmen being harmed in any way.

Now…it was my turn to save the day. To save my men with the help of the Lord as my guide…

.

.

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Alternate POV:

Later that night, at the house of Mafia Don "Pappa Joe" Yakavetta, there stood the man himself in the parlor. He was before the fireplace, assembling his gun together, preparing for a torturous interrogation.

One of his men, Geno, entered the room with information that the vigilantes had been captured. "We got 'em. They tried to get in through the basement."

"How many?" Yakavetta asked, keeping his steely eyes on the weapon he was loading.

"Three." Geno answered. "It's only the package boy and his two Irish buddies."

Indeed, down in the dark basement were three men, handcuffed to chairs, struggling to get free. Yakavetta's goons punched and strangled them to weaken their efforts.

Despite the wounds all over Connor MacManus, he silently thanked God that his love had not accompanied them on this mission…

He didn't want her to see him like this, bound and beaten…

Giuseppie Yakavetta turned off the safety of his Glock and walked downstairs toward the basement...ready to kill by any means necessary.


	16. Chapter 16

Connor's POV:

"No! Nooo! Roc…Roc!" I shouted out helplessly to our fallen comrade. Yakavetta had just shot him in the heart, causing my friend to plummet backwards in his chair. Rocco's face and shirt were stained with blood, his eyes wide with unimaginable pain.

Murphy ended up landing on his side, struggling on the cold basement floor to get close to our dying ally, sobs breaking out of his throat. After a momentary effort of inching to Rocco's side, my brother finally reached him, his blood-covered face hovering over our expiring partner.

"You…can't stop. You get outta here. Don't ever stop." The dying man gasped out his last words to us, convulsing on the icy concrete ground until his eyes went blank and his head tilted limply to the side.

"NOOOO! ROC! YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" I yelled out to the heartless bastard who had murdered our friend without so much as blinking an eye. Despair and rage overwhelmed the grief flowing throughout the entire course of my body.

"Yeah! I'm gonna kill every last one o' those fuckers!" Murphy thrashed around, struggling against his handcuffs. His chair crashed noisily against the hard floor as he managed to rest his head on Rocco's damaged chest.

"Murph…we gotta get outta these fuckin' chairs. I…I think I can get one of my feet loose." I told my brother as he turned onto his side and began to push himself back up into a sitting position.

"How does that have anything to do with gettin' us free, Conn?" Murphy at last managed to maneuver his chair back onto its legs.

I only stared at his face as my idea dawned on him. He only nodded his head at me as I wriggled the cuff that bound my ankle down the chair leg until the metal loop came free.

Murphy scooted in front of me as I lifted up my foot, agony and uncertainty nearly freezing my course of action.

"Do it!" My brother ordered, his voice muffled by the collar of his shirt. He was probably doing it so the mobsters on the upper floor wouldn't hear his cries.

I still couldn't bear hurting my own twin brother, not after all the shit we had been through in the past twenty-seven years since we were born.

"Fuckin' do it!" Murphy nearly roared at me. "Connor, you'll have to do it for Dani. If we die, she'll be devastated. If not for me, do it for her, man."

I lifted my foot again and aimed at his hand, gathering up the strength to break his hand with the heel of my boot.

As I kicked Murphy's hand against the back of his chair, I tried to think about Dani and what she might have been doing at the moment. She was probably at her uncle's house, in her warm pajamas, snuggled safely in her bedroom, reading an acclaimed crime novel.

After what felt like an eternity of hearing the crack of the bones in my brother's hand and his smothered grunts of agony, he slid his hand out of the cuff…

.

.

.

Dani's POV:

I sat in the passenger seat of Uncle Paul's car, using the small mirror in the sun visor to put on the finishing touches of my "hooker" make-up. After applying some extra dark black mascara on my eyelashes, I finally turned to him for his take on my disguise.

"How do I look?" I asked him, adjusting the honey-blonde wig on my head. My naturally brunette hair was tied up into a bun under it to better conceal my identity.

"You look like the trashiest slut I've ever seen. I'm so proud." Uncle Paul smirked as he reached over to smooth out the collar of my snug turtleneck.

"Ha ha, you're hilarious. That is exactly what I'm aiming for. These murderous bastards won't know what hit them." I had never felt this confident or brave in my life. Secretly, I hoped that tonight wouldn't get too crazy and this whole plan would go down as subtle as possible. "Besides Yakavetta, there's only four of his henchmen in there, right?"

"That's correct, my ever brilliant niece." I heard a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice as he lit up a cigarette. As I turned to glare at him, he switched off the interior light of the car. "Danielle, I know that you can do this. I've never been more certain about anything else in my whole goddamn life."

Then, I saw a pair of headlights turning away from us in the darkness. I recognized it as Yakavetta's car driving away from the house, right across from where my uncle and I were staking out.

"That's the signal that it's safe to go inside. Go give them hell, Dani." Paul smiled at me as the headlights disappeared down the street and out of sight.

I grinned back at him as I opened the car door and stepped out into the cool night air. As I walked across the front driveway of the house, the click of my high heels echoed through my ear drums, the clacking sound increasing in volume as I walked up the porch steps.

My heart pounding in my chest, I took a deep breath to calm myself as I lifted my hand and knocked on the door. Quickly, I dug into my prop handbag and slid on my sunglasses, just for cautionary purposes.

The door opened with a curly-haired man poking his head out from inside to see me standing in front of him. As he stepped closer and cracked the door closed, I held back the sick feeling in my stomach as I recited the lines I had rehearsed countless times over the past few hours.

"Hi. Joey Beavo sent me over…as entertainment." I talked in a low, seductive voice to the chubby man, hoping to fool him.

"Sorry, babe. Tonight isn't the night for this. The shit's really hitting the fan in here. You know what I'm saying?" His eyes trailed along down my body, taking in my skanky attire. "Fucking Beavo's great. He's always sending us primo box!"

I didn't even want to know what the hell that was supposed to mean. Keeping my focus on my mission, I stepped closer to the man and placed my hand on his cheek. The shivers of disgust riddled my body, but I ignored them as I pressed my lips to his, forcing myself to stay that way long enough to convince him to let me in the house.

At last, I freed my lips from his as the man stared at me with a dazed look. "Alright, let's go." He whispered, opening the door to allow us both inside.

I removed my sunglasses as the man shut the door behind us. Another man emerged from the living parlor, his eyes wide with suspicion and bewilderment as he saw me. "What the fuck are you doing?" He asked the chubby man, who put his arm around my waist. I fought the urge to break his big nose right off his face.

"Come on, man. I haven't been laid in a week. It'll take five minutes." He pleaded with him, glancing at me with gleeful lust. I smiled at him with great effort, hoping this would be over soon.

"Well, hurry up!" The other man hissed at him.

In response, the fat one led me to the bathroom. After he shut the door, I leaned sensuously against the wall, removing my jacket so he could see my body. "Come here, big boy." I purred, waiting to pounce on my enemy.

"Yeah, baby." He came closer to me, practically trapping my body against the cold bathroom wall. "You wanna ride the champ?" His hands began to tug on the sleeves of my shirt. Fighting back the impending terror, I grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him, pushing his body hard against the wall. He yelled out in pain as I grabbed the small pistol, which came with a handy silencer, out of my purse. Pulling back the safety, I held it to the back of his head.

"The Irishmen. Where are they?" I tightened my grip on his arm, pulling it farther behind his back.

The man groaned in pain as he tried to get out of my grip. "I ain't telling you nothing, you psycho bitch." I pulled him away from the wall and pushed his stunned body onto the tile floor. He stared up at me with wide eyes. I pointed my gun straight at his head.

"If you're got gonna tell me, I'll go find them myself." With that, I pulled the trigger and the scumbag was no more.

His body lay limp on the floor, his head soaked in a pool of scarlet blood.

My veins were on fire with adrenaline as I slid my jacket back on and straightened out the wig on my head. "Shit, that was close." I whispered to myself, cocking back my gun. Satisfied with my faux appearance in the mirror, I opened the bathroom door and walked into the hallway.

On full alert, I was looking for any sign that Connor and Murphy had been here. Looking up ahead of me, I saw the other man from minutes before staring at me with interest.

"Hey, baby. What is it, two for one?" He asked me. I ignored his innuendo as I raised up my gun and shot him in the chest. He landed on the floor with a groan and went limp.

Two down, and only two more to go…

As I went to the living room, I noticed a different, slightly older looking man sitting in one of the parlor chairs. Only, he didn't look up as I walked toward him. His eyes were blank…and there was a thick line of blood pouring out from his neck.

His throat had been slit…but by who?

I knew something wasn't right. Moving away quickly from the dead man, I headed down toward the basement, hoping that they were there. For good measure, I removed the wig and allowed my hair to flow down my back. As I went down the stairs and made it to the main door to the room, I heard the familiar Irish accents in the silent darkness.

"Connor…Murphy?" I called out softly as I walked closer into the room. I could make out their kneeling forms turn toward me in shock. What I saw made my knees buckle with disbelief. Both of them were placing pennies on the dead face of their friend.

Rocco lay limp in his chair, his arms handcuffed behind him. Both of the boys' faces were covered in blood. Snapping out of my trance, I nearly ran to them, desperate to see how badly they were hurt. "Oh, my God!" I whispered.

"Danielle, what the hell are ya doin' here?" Murphy nearly snapped at me. Connor merely grabbed my hand and pulled me close, not bothering to stand up from his kneeling position. He wrapped his arm around my waist as I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"I came here to make sure nothing happened to you guys." My explanation was blunt and right to the point. Nothing however, could stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks as I stared at the fallen Italian. Looking to the side, I saw the corpse of the last remaining gangster than was on my hit list.

"There' nothin' ya can do now, love." Connor's voice was filled with quiet rage as Murphy kneeled at my other side, wrapping his own arm around my waist. Placing my other hand on his shoulder, I stood between the boys as we all bowed our heads in respect. They both began to recite their family prayer as I stayed silent, letting them have their moment.

"And shepherds we shall be

For Thee, my Lord, for Thee.

Power hath descended forth from Thy ha-"

Connor and Murphy suddenly stopped as I heard the familiar click of a trigger behind us. Freezing in fright, I opened my eyes as I turned around. The boys each pulled out a gun, still kneeling on both sides of me, arms tightening their holds on my waist.

Standing only feet away from us was the mystery assassin from the suburban neighborhood, the bastard who had tried to shoot Connor. I saw that he didn't have any weapons in his hands. He only stared at us as we all stared back at him, dumbfounded. Then, I heard him finish the special prayer, not believing even my own ears.

"That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command.

We will flow a river forth unto Thee

And teeming with souls shall it ever be.

In nomine Patri,

Et Fili,

Spiritus Scanti."

My mouth nearly dropped open as Connor and Murphy lowered their weapons. The old man came closer to us, nodding in silent acknowledgment to me. He placed both of his gloved hands on each of the boys' faces, who only looked up at him with wonder and justified anger.

Right at that moment, the realization came to me. This man who had tried to kill us was the twins' long lost father, Il Duce.

All that I remembered after that was Murphy standing up and burying his face into my shoulder, sobbing. And Connor enfolding both of his arms around my waist, weeping into my stomach… They both held onto me as if I was their only anchor to keep them from emerging into the true depths of murder and insanity.

We all grieved for our friend that night and I knew nothing would ever be the same for any of us…


	17. Chapter 17

Connor's POV:

Dani helped to lead me through the motel room door, my arm hung limply around her shoulders as she held both of her arms to my waist. I felt nearly numb with disbelief after everything that went down tonight. My angel flicked on the bedside lamp with one of her little fingers as I staggered toward the small bed that was barely big enough to fit two people.

Murphy and our father were still at Yakavetta's house, dealing with the bodies of Rocco and the goons who had helped to murder him. Out of all the men in this whole world, our Da was the one who had tried to kill us only a mere twenty-four hours ago…

And then Dani had come to the house alone and killed two of Yakavetta's henchmen… I didn't know whether to be furious or proud of her.

"Connor?" I heard her voice say my name, her tone filled with worry. She leaned against the wall, her shadowed green eyes practically glowing in the dim lamplight. Tearing my gaze away from hers, I only stared down at the floor, brutal rage engulfing my veins.

"Ya shouldn't have gone over to that house, Danielle." My own voice was thick with a quiet fury. "But…that only shows me how brave ya really are, love." I looked up at her as she walked toward me. When she came up in front of me, my lips curled up into a sad smile, the internal violence turning calm inside me.

A lone tear slid down her cheek, creating a liquid trail of dark make-up. I raised my hand and gently wiped it away with my thumb, leaving a smudged black fingerprint on her skin. She raised her small hands and traced her slender fingers along my face.

"I was only doing what I had to do." She whispered before leaning down and pressing her lips to mine. I enfolded my arms around her, slightly lifting her up to pull the girl into my lap. Dani wrapped her arms around my neck, her body light as a doll against me. Then, her lips left mine as she stared into my eyes. "I should probably wipe this ridiculous make-up off my face." She shook her head in embarrassment as she made her way to the tiny bathroom.

I got up from the bed and leaned against the doorway to the restroom, watching as she pulled a washrag out of the cupboard above the sink. She rung out the rag after soaking it with water, but I stopped her before she could dab her face with it.

Walking toward her, I took the rag from her hands and locked my eyes with hers. "Let me take care of ya tonight, me love." I whispered, leaning down and planting a kiss on her forehead. She made no move to argue and I tenderly pressed the warm cloth to both of her cheeks, carefully wiping the smeared paint off of her eyelids and lips.

After a few minutes, her face was back to its natural beauty. Before I could say anything to her, she stood up onto her tiptoes and kissed me again, this time with more force. My arms were around her again as she enfolded hers around my neck. The lustful seducer on my shoulder told me to take the opportunity and bed her while she was acting out on her feelings for me.

Then the other one, the chivalrous gentleman on my other shoulder, nearly scolded for me to wait until she gave her consent. Until she would give her permission for me to worship her, body and soul…

I decided to be the saintly gentleman without question.

Lifting her off the floor so I wouldn't have to bend down, I carried her to the bed and laid her down onto it before slowly crawling on top of Dani, hovering over her vulnerable form. I moved my lips from her mouth to her neck, leaving a tiny path of kisses down to her shoulder.

She gasped as her fingers tangled into my hair, nearly scratching my scalp. "Conn… Connor…I want…"

"What is it, darlin'. What's wrong? Did I hurt ya?" I was anxious to know what she desired from me.

"No…I…I want you to make love to me." She whispered so softly that I could barely hear her.

"What? No…You're kiddin'…right?" I almost hoped that she was joking. "Dani…sweetheart…"

Before I could object for her sake, she pressed her fingertips to my lips, silencing me. "I'm being serious, Connor. I trust you…and I know that you would never hurt me. I am not just telling you what you want to hear." I could only stare in wonder as she finished. "I love you…and I want you to be inside me."

I felt a joyful tear sting my eye as Dani's fingers played with the scruff on my jaw. "Sweet Danielle…" Feeling at a loss for words, I kissed her deeply, wrapping my arms tighter around her. She groaned as her lips pulled away from mine, moving herself to lean against one of the pillows to be comfortable. "I promise…I'll be slow and gentle with ya, love. An angel like ye oughta be treated with delicate care and nothin' less."

She nodded in understanding, pulling me toward her again so that I was positioned over her petite body. Her hands fumbled with my belt buckle as I gingerly pulled the turtleneck up over her head, revealing her small torso and faded bruises… Ignoring the growl rising in my throat, I leaned down and kissed the scar marked above her heart while my fingers began to pull the skirt down her hips…

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Dani's POV:

Just like he promised, Connor MacManus was extremely careful with me. His hands felt wonderful on my bare flesh as they reached around my back to unclasp my bra. He only stared at my breasts for a brief moment before returning his eyes to my face, waiting to see how I would react.

The Irishman allowed me to remove his shirt as he loomed over me again, like he was a shield protecting me from the evils of the cruel world. His rosary hung above my face, tickling my nose. Clasping onto it with my fingers, I pulled it down while slowly tugging Connor's face closer to mine. Our lips united as I began to feel that unfamiliar sense between my legs.

My bones and muscles were tingling, shivering…my heart racing a million miles a minute.

I almost gasped with surprise, but I didn't want him to think that he was hurting me. My vigilante hero was slow and he took his time with me…until at last, he finally entered my body.

It was an inconceivable sensation that only left a small ripple of pain, but that didn't matter as I moaned in pleasure, silent tears streaming down my face. The ecstasy and adrenaline nearly froze me as I arched my back while underneath him, inhaling a gulp of air that made my lungs ache with the effort. He growled into my hair as my hands gripped onto his warm bare back, running my fingers across the toned muscles.

As I climaxed, I couldn't help but bite into his shoulder at the foreign experience that overwhelmed my body. Every part of me was trembling with the fire blazing from each of my individual cells. And I thought hard about what we were doing…

It was a sin and we both knew that as Catholics and as servants of God…

But, I knew that we loved each other and this man had given me the greatest feeling of my life, where I felt so scared, excited, thrilled and sick at the same time.

In my heart, however, I knew God would never let us get away without enduring some consequences…

As my heart rate returned to its normal acceleration, Connor continued to hover over me, his eyes searching my features for any signs of pain or distress. "Are ye okay, me love? How do ya feel?" His voice was husky with worry that I regretted what had just happened between us.

"That was…that was incredible, Connor. I've never…done anything so…wonderful in my life." My breathing became erratic from trying to find my voice.

And we kept on talking long into the night until the early hours of the morning. Connor held me in his arms as I told him about my life before I met him and Murphy.

"When I graduated high school, I wanted to go to Harvard. But, it was too expensive even with both of my parents willing to help pay for it. Even...before everything happened recently, I was trying to get my own money together to enroll somewhere closer to Uncle Paul. What about you, Connor? What did you do before all this went down?" My voice was a quiet whisper in the dark motel room.

"Hmm..." He sighed out briefly as I ran my fingertips along the trail of dark hair that aligned down the length of his torso. "Murph an' I used to work in a meat packin' plant. I know its not real glamerous, but we weren't bad at it."

"That sounds like an interesting job. I didn't really have one before losing my parents. I just wanted to focus on finishing high school." I felt his hand slowly slide down my bare back, carressing my skin with his rough but careful fingers. "A year ago, I never thought I'd be here."

"What do ya mean, Danielle?" Connor's deep voice questioned me as I felt his tattooed triggerfinger trace my jawline.

"That I'd be able to endure so much without losing my sanity, and that I'd be in the arms of a gorgeous and honorable Irishman...and that I'd fall in love with him."

After I finished my confession, he hugged me tight and kissed my hair. "I think ye have it twisted around, love. But, if its me that ye choose outta all the men in the world, I'll do what I can to be the man ya deserve." He pulled one of the white sheets over my naked upper body. "I guess we oughta get some sleep, huh?"

I nodded my head in silence, snuggling against his chest as he claimed me in his safe embrace. We lay there in the darkness, arms entwined around one another, reveling in the calm before the approaching storm…

We had no idea what would happen tomorrow, next week, or even a year from now... We could only find out with time.

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3 MONTHS LATER…

Hours became days…

Days became weeks…

And I began to feel different as the weeks went by. I was sure that Connor had told Murphy that we slept together since they were brothers and told each other absolutely everything.

My "big brother" didn't say anything to me about what he thought about Connor and I finally consummating our relationship, probably not wanting to offend me.

All I could see from his reaction was that he would give me an apprehensive glance that vividly presented itself in his eyes, as if he was worried. He never had a chance to discuss those issues with me, though.

The brothers were still furious with Yakavetta about Rocco's murder…and they planned to get him back with the aid of their father, who I discovered was really Noah MacManus. He regarded me with quite the fatherly kindness and respect when I told him that his sons had 'adopted' me into their clan.

However, I had been feeling ill over the past couple of weeks, having to occupy the bathrooms at the motels where we stayed at so I could toss back my most recent meal. All three of the men grew increasingly worried about me, insisting that I stay at Paul's so the constant traveling wouldn't tire me.

Being the stubborn lamb I was, I refused, insisting that it was only stomach flu or something that I ate. Deep down, I knew it must have been something else, but I kept on denying it.

Now, I couldn't concentrate on any of those things as I watched in transfixed awe and horror, standing near the side exit of the courtroom. Everyone in the room had frozen with shock as Connor, Murphy and Noah burst through the main doors, guns wielded in each of their hands.

"You, to the back! Drop the fuckin' camera!" The man known as Il Duce shouted. He ran to the judge's bench and dragged him down toward the back of the room, ignoring his pleas to be released. Murphy grabbed Giuseppe Yakavetta from the witness stand and forced him down onto both knees as Connor pointed both of his Desert Eagles up into the higher stands.

"Up top! Drop your guns! One at a time, now!" He yelled out to the dumbfounded security guards, who obeyed the Irishman, letting their weapons fall to the courtroom floor down below them.

Noah paced around the room slowly, pointing his own gun up at the stunned crowd of people. Connor and Murphy both stood behind Yakavetta, poising their Desert Eagles to the back of the gangster's head.

"You people have been chosen to reveal our existence to the world. You will witness what happens here today and you will tell of it later. All eyes to the front." Il Duce calmly ordered everyone in the stands.

Yakavetta opened his mouth to say something, but I couldn't hear it as my ears began to ring. Sweat beaded at my forehead and a strange pain entered my abdomen… I leaned against the doorway and kept on watching silently despite the illness creeping into my belly.

The next thing I saw was Connor and Murphy standing on the persecuted and prosecutor tables, pointing their guns around the room.

"Now you will receive us!" Connor shouted out to all the people focused on what was occurring in front of them.

"We do not ask for your poor or your hungry." Murphy declared in great volume.

"We do not want your tired and sick!" I heard the man I loved yell with all the ferocity of a real fighter.

"It is your corrupt we claim."

"It is your evil that will be sought by us!" As I heard Connor's voice, I felt something move inside me… No...more than one thing. Something was wriggling around at the sound of his voice, and it certainly wasn't my stomach rumbling.

I tried to concentrate on the boys' speech, battling the need to slump down onto the cold tile floor. "With every breath, we shall hunt them down."

"Each day, we will spill their blood 'till it rains down from the skies!" Once again, the little dance began in my belly. What in the hell was wrong with me?

"Do not kill! Do not rape! Do not steal! These are principles which every man of every faith can embrace." Murphy ordered, clearly not playing around.

"These are not polite suggestions; these are codes of behavior. And those that ignore them will pay the dearest cost!" The ringing in my ears increased as my vision began to blur.

"There are varying degrees of evil. We urge you lesser forms of filth not to push the bounds and cross over… into true corruption, into our domain."

"But if you do, one day you will look behind you and you will see we three. And on that day, you will reap it!" I heard Connor roar out in anger.

"And we will send ye to whatever God you wish." Murphy finished at last.

Both of the boys jumped down from the tables and walked to their father, who was holding Yakavetta down on his knees. All three of them pointed one gun each to the back of his skull. I felt powerless to move as the roaring in my ears became nearly deafening.

Then, I saw the gangster's head explode with the impact of the blasts to his head. My vision blurred even more as the pain in my abdomen increased. Pushing myself away from the exit, I tried to walk to somewhere that I could sit down.

The sound of other people screaming surrounded me, but I barely registered on that fact as I staggered toward the courtroom staircases that lead to the first level.

At last…the strength in my body disappeared as darkness consumed me and I collapsed to the hard floor. Right before I blacked out, my ears heard a recognizable, angry voice shouting my name…

As my body was being lifted up and held with surprising gentleness, protected from the cold tile floor, my mind sank deeper into oblivion and I succumbed to unconsciousness, not wanting to face the look of fiery rage in the eyes of Connor and Murphy MacManus…

Never shall innocent blood be shed. Yet the blood of the wicked shall flow like a river. The three shall spread their blackened wings and be the vengeful striking hammer of God.


	18. Chapter 18

Connor's POV:

Smecker led me, along with Murphy and our father, back to the FBI van that was parked behind the courthouse. Danielle lay cradled in my arms as I walked as fast as I could to the vehicle. Greenly and Duffy opened both of the doors to the containment center of the van so I could maneuver her carefully inside.

Right before I stepped into the van, I looked to Paul, who stood near the driver's side. "She saw, didn't she?" I asked him gravely.

The FBI agent glanced from his niece's face to mine, and then only stared down at the ground. That was answer enough for me.

"O' course she did." I shook my head in angry disbelief, still feeling the rush of our courtroom spectacle. Da and Murphy climbed behind me into the van as I sat down onto one of the metal benches, holding Dani securely in my lap. Her eyes were closed, the color gone from her face. I began to worry she might have been starting to get really sick. Nearly every day, she ate very little and seemed exhausted from our traveling around the city. I had only been able to convince her only a few times over the passing weeks for her to stay at her uncle's house, but she mostly wouldn't hear of it.

"What do ya think is wrong with the lass, son?" Da asked me, casting a worried glance at the girl in my arms.

"I don't know, Da." I placed my hand on her cheek, and then moved it to her forehead. "She feels warm. I think she might have a fever."

"Whatever she's got, Conn, I'm sure she'll beat the hell out of it. If Dani can kill Yakavetta's henchmen to save us, she can overcome a lil' illness." Murphy tried to cheer me up as I felt her shiver against me. "She's gonna be fine, brother."

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When we got to our small motel room, I placed Dani on the bed, removing her shoes as Murphy pulled the covers over her. Da sat in the armchair, his tall form silhouetted against the lone tableside lamp that was turned on in the room.

We all sat in the quiet darkness, listening to the sound of a distant car horn down the street. I sat down on the edge of the bed as Murphy slumped into a small chair, rubbing his forehead from stress.

"How far are we gonna take this, Da?" My voice sounded loud in the heavy silence, even though I was whispering.

Our father leaned forward in his chair, taking a drag from his cigar. "The question is not how far. The question is: Do you possess the constitution? The depth of faith to go as far as is needed?"

As I pondered over those words, I heard my love moan, twisting over onto her side in a fitful sleep. "Do ya think she'll be okay? I've never seen her like this. Not since…" I stopped myself as that godforsaken night invaded my mind. However, I couldn't deny the fact that I was right. I hadn't seen her in this condition since Murphy and I had found her and took her to our home.

"Ya don't have to give me all the details, Connor. Danielle has told me everything. I agree that what happened to her was vile and unforgiveable. And I know about what you have goin' on with her, son. I can see that this spirited lass loves ya, me son, and ya oughta consider yerself to be a damned lucky bastard to have someone like her."

I stared at my father as I absorbed what he was saying about the young woman I loved.

"I just thought both of you boys should know that I've gotten to know yer fair damsel over the weeks and she did just about the last thing I expected her to do."

"What was it, Da?" Murphy asked quietly.

"She forgave me for shootin' at all of ya back in that neighborhood. When she presented me with that wound o' hers, I all but had tears runnin' down me cheeks, wantin' her to know that I hadn't meant to harm her. Then, I remembered that…I was intendin' to hit you, Connor." There was a quaver of regret in his voice. "That lass over there saved yer life, son. If she hadn't been there, who knows what the fuck woulda happened that day."

"Yer right. She did save me. She's me strong angel." I looked over at the woman sleeping only a foot away from me. Momentarily ignoring the two other people in the room, I went to her side, leaned down and gently kissed both of her closed eyelids. "I love ye, Danielle." I whispered, hoping she could hear me through her slumber.

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Dani's POV:

It seemed to be like an eternity when I was finally able to open my eyes. Everything was dark and blurry…and quiet. The last thing I had heard was people shouting…but I wasn't in the courthouse anymore.

Slowly sitting myself up, I leaned on one of the soft pillows and looked around at my surroundings. I was in a small motel room, with only a tiny bathroom next to it. "Connor? Murphy…?" I softly rasped out, finding my voice.

A shape moved in one of the chairs in the corner of the room. I recognized the sound of Murphy stretching out. "Dani, you're awake. How do ye feel?" He walked to my side instantly and softly put his hand on my forehead. "Hmm…Ya don't feel very feverish anymore."

"What? Where are…Connor and Noah?" I asked him, brushing some hair off my forehead.

"They went to talk to your uncle and his three Stooges about scavengin' more weapons and which city we should go to next. It's real late now, so they won't be back 'til early in the mornin'. I told me brother I'd keep an eye on ya." He explained, giving me a little wink.

I moaned as I lay back on the pillow, feeling sick to my stomach again. Murphy's face changed from playful to concern in a second.

"Dani, honey, what's the matter with ya?" I shook my head as I mentally denied what really could be wrong with me. "Please…talk to me. Ya can tell big brother Murphy anything."

"Murphy…I think I'm gonna be sick." I freed myself from the covers, ignoring his stunned reaction. Sprinting to the bathroom, I slammed the door, not bothering to lock it. I faintly heard him knocking repeatedly on the door, calling my name, but I ignored it as I pulled the stick out of my pocket…and stared at the fateful plus sign that would forever be in my memory. I sank down to sit on the tile floor of the bathroom.

Once again, the waltz started in my abdomen, only it was gentle and not completely shocking. The babies were moving around, dancing in joy due to my body's reaction to my recent discovery of them.

The next thing I knew, Murphy forced the door and helped lead me back to the bed. He briefly scooped me up and laid me down, giving me a somewhat stern look. "What kinda brother would I be if I just let you get sick like this?" As he finished his sentence, his eyes widened when he saw the small stick still clutched in my hand. "Dani…what…the fuck?"

"Murphy…please." Tears filled my eyes now. "Please…I…just don't know what to do. You…you can't…"

I kept on sobbing and stuttering as he remembered where he was and took my face in between his hands. "Danielle…is it…Connor's?" It was strange hearing his voice say my full name, but I nodded at the tears continued to fall.

"Murphy…you cannot tell him? Do you hear me?" I asked ferociously. "It's so shameful."

"No, its not, lil' sis. Me brother'll be so happy to know… He needs to know this, Dani." His eyes held me to my spot.

"But, I…I'm so scared and I feel so sick and frail and…" I was interrupted by Murphy shushing me.

"Look at me, Danielle." His hands still kept my head toward him. "I guess…if ya won't let Connor know about this, then somebody is gonna have to take care of ya, fer now. " He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "And that person is gonna be me."

"Murphy…If I do let you get the stuff I need for this, you cannot, under any circumstances, let Connor know about this, please. And, its also because…I know that you'll have to leave America soon."

He nodded solemnly at me, taking my hand in his and rubbing it. The tears kept on stinging my eyes as I faced the awful truth. I knew from my uncle that the MacManus men couldn't stay in the country much longer…and I would get left behind. "Anything fer me sister." He whispered huskily to me, although I could hear the uncertainty in his tone.

My conflicted emotions overtook me as I imagined the day when my soldiers would leave. Murphy climbed onto the bed next to me, laid his arm around my shoulders and allowed me to cry into his shirt. He gently rocked me back and forth, softly humming a familiar Irish lullaby he and Connor had taught me. As I closed my eyes, I imagined myself singing the song to the little ones growing inside me.

Connor's children...and my children. They were both ours...and I had God to thank for that.


	19. Chapter 19

Dani's POV:

Feeling refreshed and relaxed, I freed my wet hair from my towel and shook out the water. Shivers of anticipation vibrated through long with the goose-bumps overtaking my exposed flesh. I checked my clock on the bedside table to see that it was approaching 11 in the evening.

Any minute now my darling Irishman would arrive for a first time bedroom rendezvous under the secrecy of the stars and moon.

God save the souls of my Uncle Paul, Murphy, and most recently Noah MacManus…

Nobody else knew about mine and Connor's relationship progressing from a dynamic of comrades into that of lovers. Thinking of that horrible and enticing night a month prior to tonight caused my consciousness spin into near delirium.

The night Connor and Murphy lost Rocco, discovered the mysterious assassin paroled out of prison to hunt them down was their own father and later into the darkest corners of impulsiveness that I had given the whole of my entire heart and body to the more abrasive of the MacManus brothers.

I grabbed my bathrobe off its hook on my bathroom door, and went to work on straightening my still soaked hair with my fingers. Leaving my hair down to air dry, I pulled on a plain black tank and pajama shorts since I knew both boys could not have cared less about my fashion sense.

My bedroom window was open the widest it would go, the warm summer breeze caressing my face and neck. Taking deep breaths in sync with the clock ticking, I removed the various stuffed animals from my bed and threw them underneath. But not before giving my green rabbit Clover a quick peck on the nose.

I strictly only had them for decoration, and I could not find it in myself to part with them as a memory to my parents.

Steadying my breaths, I plopped down onto the bed and tried to focus on anything else other than my scoundrel in a black pea-coat on his way to spend a hopefully romantic evening with me. I was thankful that Uncle Paul would be working overnight so as to be spared the sneaking around of an enamored Irishman involved with his precious niece, let alone being physically intimate in the agent's own home.

Smiling to myself, I recalled the day two weeks ago when I sat down with both Connor and Paul to tell him of confirming our relationship as a couple…

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All three of us sat in the living room, Connor and I on the sofa and Paul on the main chair. He never took his eyes off either of us. His sharp gaze focused especially on my hand cradled in Connor's, a soothing gesture assuring me of his presence.

Connor looked my uncle straight in the eye as he sat up straight, confident and yet humble. He was willing to forsake his crass attitude and cockiness in order to show Paul the utmost respect not only as his confidential friend but as my legal guardian who could easily tear us apart just by following the law.

"Agent Smecker." Connor was the first to speak before I could. "Sir… Dani and I have come to ya because we both have been through hell and back since St. Patty's Day."

I squeezed his hand in encouragement for him to continue. Without breaking eye contact with my uncle, he nodded in my direction and inhaled a deep breath.

"We both feel that you deserve to know how she's been treated during our excursion as Saints. Please believe me when I say this." I could feel the tremble begin in my Irishman's palm as his fingers gently curled around my knuckles. "I've fallen in love with her, and I know that's not the life you want for her. This amazin' lass took a bullet for me an' I know in yer eyes, I will never be worthy of her affections. As the man charged by the law with her welfare, I understand if ya wanna slap yer handcuffs on me now an' haul me away."

Connor paused in his speech, never breaking from his stare down against Uncle Paul. I remained silent as I tried to calm my pounding heartbeat. My uncle remained stoic and still as a statue absorbing every word the man across from him was proclaiming with surefire passion and bravery.

"That night Murph an' I found her, I sure as hell didn't plan on fallin' in love. But I knew it the minute she walked into that police station an' said she wanted to join us." Connor turned to me then, his gaze softening as his other hand raised up toward my face, his fingertips lightly tracing down my jaw-line to my chin. Closing my eyes in bliss to his touch, a blush crept along my cheeks momentarily until I remembered where we were and that we had an audience. "I've never felt this way fer any woman 'til now."

Uncle Paul leaned further until his elbows were propped on his knees, his gaze shifting between both me and Connor. He sighed a deep long breath as his head hung down in exhaustion. After a lengthy inaudible second, my uncle spoke up in response, his tone thick with conviction and strictness that I rarely heard considering his eccentricity.

"Danielle, you're legally an adult and are capable to deciding for yourself your own path in life. Is it true what Connor just said to me? And do you return these feelings for him? And considering the events of the night they found you in that alleyway, did you always feel safe with him?" His questioning possessed the pitch of an interrogation, but I knew his reason being for my protection.

Taking a gulp to hold back the memory of that night, I opened my mouth to speak, enlightened by Connor's warm grasp on my hands.

"Uncle Paul, I can tell you that even though we may not have known each other long enough to be considered as a true couple by dating standards, you can easily imagine that we didn't really have time for candlelit dinners and fancy hotel rooms with rose petals. Every day since we met, we didn't know if one of us wasn't going to die. For all the arguments and disagreements Connor and I had in our growing friendship, we had amazing moments that we will always remember as being special. He literally carried me every time I felt weak or hurt myself. He comforted me every time I cried and felt alone. He never took advantage of my vulnerability being the only girl in a group of crazy, unpredictable men."

Uncle Paul sat back in his chair this time, taking in my desperate words as I internally begged him to accept our relationship. His gaze lost the flame of suspicion as he continued to scrutinize the both of us.

After five elongated seconds, Connor spoke up again.

"Agent Smecker, I ask ya not only as yer friend but as a man who would give anything to protect this beautiful woman beside me. Without hesitation, I'd turn meself into the cops now if it meant she'd be safe from our enemies." His voice deepened with the sincerity of his words. Tears of disbelief welled in my eyes as Connor voiced the measures he would take to protect me. "I'll never give my heart to another stranger should anything keep us apart. She's the only one fer me now and forevermore."

Gasping in joy, I lifted Connor's hand to my lips and kissed his warm palm before I could stop myself. While witnessing my display of sudden happiness, Uncle Paul sat back up again rapt attention at the conclusion of Connor's declaration.

Breaking away from my uncle's debating stare, Connor turned to me and enfolded his arm around my waist to pull me close to his side. Allowing us all the more physical contact and daring the man in front of us to protest…

Resting my head upon his shoulder, I wiped the few flowing tears from my cheeks as Connor enfolded both arms securely about my waist. I was his as much as he was mine, come what may…

We both turned to him, anxious to receive his answer. Connor pressed his lips to my forehead in a chaste show of affection, the least he could do in front of my uncle…

Leaning back and folding a leg over a knee in a casual posture of decision, Uncle Paul held us with his disciplined gaze, nodded his head in a slow manner and gave his definitive answer.

"Alright. But don't fuck it up, MacManus." Uncle Paul held out his hand to Connor and my Irishman followed suit, giving a handshake of mutual agreement to fare for my happiness.

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My eyes shot open as I realize that I had dozed off. A tapping on the side of the house alerted me to the presence of my vigilante rogue.

Since my uncle and I lived in a moderately furbished one-story house, it allowed access easy for Connor to climb through my bedroom window. Luckily the window was at an angle that wouldn't cause alarm to the neighbors.

Feeling ecstatic to a nearly stupid degree, I leapt out of bed and raced to the window, eager to be in his arms again. He appeared out of the shadows, shaking off some thorny branches that were clinging to his leg from the bushes. Irritated grunts and various curses emanated from him as I chuckled at his dilemma.

Deciding to be coy at his current preoccupation, I leaned forward on the windowsill and sighed in a dramatic approach.

"Excuse me, sir. I'm waiting for my dashing knight in shining armor to rescue me from this tower of mine." I caught Connor's face as he looked up at me in the dim streetlights. His eyes lit up in mischief and he growled as he swung his leg up over the windowsill.

"My love, I'm kinda short on armor, ya know?" He climbed inside as I shut the window. I heard the rustle of his pea-coat as he removed it and set it onto my desk chair in the corner. "But yer worth all the dangers in the world it'd take endurin' to save ya." He removed his muddy boots as well much to my relief.

Connor reached his hand into his pocket after I turned away from locking the window. Curious,I looked at what he had in his hand and felt my legs shaking. A wooden box of dark mahogany, something used in a jewelry store.

"What is that?" I nearly whispered as he took my hand and led me to my bed. We sat down, our knees brushing each other.

"It's fer you." He purred just as softly as he held the box out for me to take it. "And before ya see what it is, just know that me an' yer uncle coordinated together on it." I looked into his blue eyes, trying to comprehend what he meant.

Not finding any words to respond with, I only nodded my head and opened to smooth lid with shaking fingers. Inside was a sterling silver heart-shaped locket embedded with three-leaf clovers on the surface and the chain strung up by lime green clovers glittering in the lamplight of my room.

Looking up into Connor's eyes again, I saw his apparently nervous expression fall into anticipation as I inspected the trinket's beauty in astonishment. "Connor… it's gorgeous! But…but you shouldn't have spent your money on it, not for me. It's not my birthday or anything." He gently took my hand as I continued rambling pointlessly. "Why did you get this for me? It's…it's not…"

I gave up on words, admitting to myself that this was indeed the finest gift I had ever received.

"I got it fer ya because I wanted to truly show ya how much you meant to me, Danielle." His other hand tenderly held my cheek in the most feather light way possible. "But look what's inside the locket to see what the most important part is."

His gaze drifted down to the locket in my hands. Undoing the clasp with my now steady fingers, I opened the heart and froze in melancholy nostalgia. Within the necklace itself was a portrait of me along with my parents on the day of my high school commemoration from over a year ago. My proud mother and father at both my sides, beaming with pride at my success and my slightly younger self clad in a deep blue gown and graduation cap, holding my diploma. Looking up at Connor in wonder, he only smiled in knowing sympathy with me as he pressed his forehead to mine.

"When I saw that locket, I immediately thought o' you. But I asked yer uncle to find me the most recent picture o' yer folks. He was afraid it'd make ya upset, but I wanted to give ya somethin' more than just a shallow piece o' silver." Connor removed the locket from my lap and slowly closed the lid before maneuvering the chain to lock comfortably around my throat. "Any bastard can buy his girl a meaningless necklace, but I wanted to show ya how yer parents will always be with ya."

The locket rested upon my bosom as I turned to Connor, trying to find appropriate words to say to him. Should he have given me something so personal and sensitive to me so soon into our relationship? As I debated inside my head what to say, he appeared to read my expression and he hung his head in defeat.

"Dani, if it's too much fer ya, I can take it back. Ya shouldn't feel like ya have to wear it." Sighing in my direction, his fingers stroked my neck just below my jaw. "If ya don't want it, ya can remove the picture an' sell it." His tone of voice carried the bitterness of the past few weeks since Rocco's death. And I didn't want him to say anything other negative thing tonight…

Leaning forward, I grabbed my Irishman and pulled him in to a kiss. Initiating the kiss myself wasn't something I was used to, but I took control anyway. Mere words would never be enough to convey my feelings on his gift to me. My heartbeat increased as the heated passion flowed through my body.

His arms wrapped around me as he fell back onto the bed, pulling me to be on top of him. Connor's strong hands caressed my back up and down and eventually reached upwards to stroke my hair. After a few minutes, we pulled away to take a breather and he was nearly gasping as we both laughed with one another in ecstasy.

"Danielle, ya just made me melt with that kiss o' yers. Does that mean yer not angry about the necklace?" His voice dripped with uncertainty.

"No, baby." I whispered to him as I pulled him close again, our noses and foreheads grazing each other. "It's more than anyone could have ever given me."

Connor's eyes twinkled at my use of that term of affection for him. It just slipped out by accident, but sounded so effortless.

"I just need to know… did you truly mean that when you told Uncle Paul that day. That I'd be the only woman for you from now on? That's a really serious vow you're taking." We locked eyes again as we moved up on the bed to lean against my pillows. "And I know you've been with other women before we met, others that are prettier and flashier. And I don't really have anything to give back to you in return for this necklace…"

Connor instantly held me to him as I voiced my insecurities, my head resting on his chest. It was normal to feel unsure when you started thinking about the others that came before. My voice faded away from my own ears as the Irishman sighed in deep contemplation before tipping my chin up to look into his serious gaze.

"Are ye familiar with the books o' Jane Austen, Dani?" Connor asked with a near challenging edge to his voice.

Puzzled by this sudden question, I leaned up from his hold on my chin to answer. "Yes. We mostly studied Pride & Prejudice in my senior year. Why?"

Conner rolled over until he was hovering above me, his arms on both my sides supporting himself, his eyes never leaving mine. A smirk crossed his lips for a split second before settling into a serene smile like that of a man seeing the sunlight after lifelong blindness. His voice rumbled through me as it deepened into pure seduction and conviction of my power over his heart.

"You have bewitched me, body an' soul." His lips kissed my forehead as I tried to keep my own breathing steady. "An' I love," He kissed then my own lips, his stubble tickling my face. "I love," He moved to my neck with incredible care, gracing it with a touch as though anything rougher would snap it in two. "I love you, my Danielle." A moan escaped me as he saved the longest kiss for the spot where my locket lay, next to the beating source pumping energetic lust underneath my skin. "An' you've given me everything I need just by bein' with me outta all the men in the world."

The world melted around us we both became lost in our euphoric bliss. Nothing else mattered the rest of that night as we lay in bed cherishing each other in these few moments of peace. It wouldn't last forever, but we would try to make them go on as long as possible.

Connor's POV:

Today was the day I knew we had to leave America…and ultimately leave Danielle behind. I replayed the plan repeatedly in my mind as I waited for Murphy to bring her back to her uncle's house. My brother would take great care of her, knowing that she was like a younger sister to him.

Now, I stood in the doorway of Dani's bedroom, waiting for her to arrive so I could tell her the sad news. I didn't want to leave her, but the final straw had been drawn for me when she fainted in that court-house after witnessing us blow Yakavetta's head clean off his body.

The world of vigilantism was too overwhelming for a young woman like her. Hell, she was barely twenty years old and this world was already tearing her from the seams. Over the past month, I had seen her be constantly sick and had almost forced her to eat at least two meals a day. I was tired of seeing her like that…yet; I was still elated by the fact that she reciprocated my feelings for her.

After we'd leave for Ireland, Dani would move on with her life, perhaps even go to college and pursue her own education. Maybe she'd meet a man who was part of an honorable profession, someone who was rich who could take her out to fancy candlelit dinners, buy her beautiful clothes, and take her out of South Boston to live in the lush countryside with property where she could have her own horses to ride at her own pleasure…

I sat on her small bed, playing with her whistle necklace in my hands, wringing the thin chain between my fingers… How on earth was I going to tell her goodbye?

The sound of feet coming toward the room alerted me that someone was coming. I looked up to see her standing a few feet away from me, wearing her long brown hair in a braid. She smiled a bit as she walked closer. "Hi, Connor. I…I feel a lot better now. I think I'll be okay."

There was a strange tremor in her voice that made me wonder if something was wrong, but I shrugged it off and held her whistle up to show her. "Yer uncle told me that ya might want this back."

"I…I don't think I really need it anymore…but thank you." She reached over to take it, but I pulled it back from her. "What?" She asked me with a stern tone. Behind her, I saw Murphy stand in the doorway, a faraway look in his eyes.

"I just need to say somethin', Dani." I started, gathering up my strength to speak.

"I…already know that you have to leave the country…to Ireland. But, you're gonna come back here eventually…right?" Her voice went up an octave with that last questioning word.

A sob threatened to break out of me, but I forced it down as I stepped closer to her, staring into my love's green orbs. "No, Danielle. We're not comin' back."

"But, you can't just leave Boston and pretend like…you never even found me! I know that it's dangerous for you guys to be here any longer…but…I don't want you to go." She closed the distance between us and reached down to wrap her arms around my waist. "Connor, you're the only man I've ever loved. The only man I've ever given myself to. After all we've been through... After you and I..." She could hardly finish her sentence, her voice breaking away into despair.

Murphy walked up behind her and gently rubbed her back. "Lass, if we don't leave soon, we're gonna be up to our necks in trouble."

"Guys…please…" She whispered, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.

"Danielle, look at me." I got down on both of my knees in front of her, showing that I was at her full mercy at the moment. "There's no other reason for us to stay here any longer, and I can't let ya be a part of this life any more. You're the bravest young lass I've ever met and I don't regret a single day that I've known ya. But, I can't bear seein' ya like this every day, cryin' and bleedin', riskin' yer own life to protect a bastard like me." I looped the whistle chain around her neck and clasped it together behind her hair, letting it hang in front of her bosom.

"Connor…Murphy…you know I love you guys and I'd do anything for you." She continued to cry as I stood up in front of her, taking her hands into mine.

"Lil sis, we know that. We'd do the same fer ya, as well." Murphy stroked her shoulders with his gloved hands.

"Me love, I just want ya to know that I'll never, ever forget ya as long as I live. Every day, I'll pray to God that you're safe and happy with whatever He has in store fer ya." My voice was down to a low whisper. I took her face tenderly between my hands, wiping a tear away with my thumb. "I know that you've got yer whole life ahead of ya. You can be with someone who can dote on ya and give ya anythin' yer lil' heart desires. Things that I can never give ya with the way I live now."

Murphy stepped back from us to give Danielle and me some space. I pulled her even closer until our foreheads were touching. "Connor…my guardian angel." She murmured softly.

"Goodbye, mon bel ange." At last, the sinful urge overtook me as I pressed my lips to hers, feeling the heat build up around us. Her lips were urgent against mine as I gripped her frame tightly with my hands, never wanting to release her.

The next thing I noticed was how I pulled myself away from her, trying to block out the sound of her crying. Murphy watched me leave the room first behind me as he went to bid her farewell.

I almost stomped through the house to wait outside by the FBI van that would take us to the barge ship set to travel to Ireland. We were finally going home… but I'd never get to show it to my Danielle.

Hell…she didn't belong to me now…not anymore. But, I'd never stop loving her. And I knew that if you love somebody that much, you'd let them go.

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Dani's POV:

Murphy hugged me tight, kissing me on the forehead. "Dani, listen to me. I told Smecker about the wee ones, and we agreed that you'd be able to write letters to me if they're intercepted through the organization he formed that supports The Saints. But, only if ya feel comfortable with it."

I nodded incessantly. "Yes, but you'll have to be the one to receive them. I still feel afraid of Connor finding out." With a sad glint in his blue eyes, he slipped his hand in his jeans pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. It bore the address that I'd need to send the letters to him. "I…I'll write you every week and let you know how everything is. Just be sure to tell your brother that I'm okay."

"Ya know, if it wasn't you askin' me, Dani, I'd never keep a secret like this from me own brother." His voice was solemn as stroked my chin with his thumb. "But, I'll only tell him when you say that I can." He wrapped his arms around me again, giving me a kiss on the head. "You take o' yerself, lass. For me brother."

"I will." I whispered brokenly as he went for the door to my room. And then…he was gone. They both were and there was nothing I could do. The babies began moving inside me restlessly and I placed my hands on my stomach. I faced my reflection in the mirror, my cheeks flushed with tears. Furiously, I wiped them away, gaining my composure. "We're gonna be okay. It's gonna be alright." The movements stopped as I talked, as if they were listening to my voice. I wondered… "You're not gonna grow up without knowing who your father is. I promise you that. If you heard that I…just want to know if you can hear me. Can either of you really hear me?" I asked them both, staring down at my belly, waiting. "Sweet angels, my little babies." I whispered in encouragement.

Then, the soft pats started, a light kicking sensation that almost tickled. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as the realization at last dawned on me.

I was actually going to be the mother of Connor MacManus's children…

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2 MONTHS LATER

I sat in one of the back pews inside the Church of the Holy Saints on a Wednesday morning in August. A guest speaker of the sermon, Father Macklepenny was reciting the Catholic prayer in an echoing voice that filled the room. Everyone else was standing as I remained sitting down, keeping my head bowed in prayer.

I heard the main priest of the church thank Macklepenny for the lesson as he came to the podium to take the younger man's place. I stood up from my seat, subtly sliding out of the pew and ignoring the stares of various churchgoers. The priest's voice continued on with his words.

"I am reminded on this lovely morning of the sad story of Kitty Genovesie. As you all may remember, a long time ago, almost thirty years ago, this poor soul cried out for help, time and time again, but no person answered her calls." I walked up to the front, right to the giant statue of Jesus nailed on the Cross, kneeling before Him on both knees. I closed my eyes and said the MacManus family prayer as the priest kept on lecturing. "Though many saw, no one so much as called the police. They all just watched as Kitty was being stabbed to death in broad daylight." I stood up and half-wobbled down the aisle, ignoring the stares of the women in the audience at the sight of my growing belly…and no ring on my finger. "They watched as her assailant walked away. Now, we must all fear evil men, but there is another kind of evil which we must fear most. And that is the indifference of good men."

I stopped at the door to listen to him finish, silently agreeing with him as I pulled my jacket tighter around my shoulders. Nodding to myself, I opened the door and stepped out of the church, meeting the fresh air of another summer day in August.

At least the monsignors had finally gotten the point…

I walked down the stone steps and sat down on a nearby bench to wait for my bus to take me to work. Doc McGinty had kindly offered me a job as a bartender when he heard about the boys leaving me behind. Over the past weeks, he had become like a grandfather to me.

As I smiled at the thought of going to work, I saw an elderly woman from the church aisle at the side of my bench. Her eyes scrutinized me as I wondered what she wanted. "Can I help you, miss?" I asked trying to be polite.

"Young lady, I've seen you come to this church every Sunday and Wednesday, yet I never see you…with a man in your company. " She eyed my ring finger that was absent of a particular piece of jewelry. "I've been discussing it with my fellow sisters of the congregation…and I don't think its appropriate for an unwed mother-to-be to be coming to such a sacred place."

"What the hell are you trying to tell me?" My voice was sharp. "Just because I'm not married and happen to be pregnant, I'm not good enough to be in the presence of God?"

"Well, that and I thought you should know that I think you should consider the fact that illegitimate children are nothing but worthless little bastards…" She said straight to my face.

"Stop it right there, lady!" I fought the urge to cuss her out. "You don't talk about my children like that. Born out of wedlock or not, they are still the most precious things I have ever been given. And before you say anything about their father, he is only far away because he has to be and I love him more than anything in this world. Now…if you'll excuse me, I have a bus to catch. Try to have yourself a good day as you criticize people for reasons that are none of your damn business." As the bus pulled up to a stop, I left her there with her mouth open wide in shock, feeling satisfied that I gave that bitch some of her own medicine.

The driver tipped his hat to me and sent a small grin at my stomach, which was now protruding with a pronounced bump. I sat down in the nearest seat, pulling my purse into my lap. Reaching inside, I took out of my bag an ultrasound picture, the very first photo of my babies. I had taken it yesterday, intending to find out what genders they would be.

As it turned out, I was carrying twin daughters…and I couldn't have been prouder. Uncle Paul, along with Dolly, Duffy, and Greenly, and come to the appointment for moral support and to help me think of baby names. Now, as I sat in my bus seat, staring out at the passing streets of South Boston, I thought of the perfect names for mine and Connor's little angels.

Isabella Marie and Delilah Anne MacManus…

Certainly, they sounded like the daughters of an Irishman. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of them growing up as I told them about their father and uncle, who I hoped would return one day. I couldn't wait to get home after work and write to Murphy about his two little nieces.

They had to reunite with the people they cared for in America, if it was God's will. But, I knew that no matter what, these two girls growing inside my belly would have a part of their father with them. I imagined they would have his blue eyes and lovely smile, but my fiery stubborness... But, I would have to wait and see for what the future would bring me and my girls.

My blissful smile grew softer as I gazed at the city outside my window, with the beautiful sun rising in the sky…where the angels were watching me and my family as I imagined of the day that the Saints would come back to me.


End file.
